A Method to Determine Reasonableness and Feasibility of Noise Abatement at Special Use Locations

Excel Worksheet User's Guide

• The worksheet only requires that four (4) values be entered to determine whether or not noise abatement is reasonable at a special use location. The four values are:
  1. Length of proposed noise barrier (ft or m),
  2. Height of proposed noise barrier (ft or m),
  3. The average amount of time that a person spends at the site per visit (in hours)*, and
  4. The average number of people that use this site per day that will receive at least a 5 dB(A) benefit from abatement at the site.
• If using English units, enter values only in the yellow boxes at the top
• If using SI units, enter values only in the orange boxes at the top
• Once the four (4) required input values have been entered, the results will be displayed in the table below the input area. There are two (2) separate columns, one for English units, and one for SI units.
• If abatement is reasonable, the phrase "REASONABLE" will appear in green in Item 10 of the respective column (English/SI) of the table.
• If abatement is not reasonable, the phrase "NOT REASONABLE" will appear in red in Item 11 of the respective column (English/SI) of the table.

* Information for Item 3 will normally be developed by the owner/operator of the special use location.