I was so excited. A camping trip! A dear friend’s company, good food, and a campsite next to a lake. What the online map didn’t show, though, was a set of train tracks located on the other side of the lake.

All night long the trains passed. As a deaf camper, I saw the lights and felt the vibrations as I drifted in and out of sleep. My friend didn’t sleep at all!

The effects of noise on health are real. Sleep disturbance is on top of the list. Other effects: high blood pressure, stress hormone increase, fatigue, anxiety, depression, increased risk of hypertension, feelings of anger, annoyance, stress, hearing loss, and tinnitus.

What’s the solution? Public awareness is a good place to start. Traffic calming features can be annoying if you are a driver trying to get through a neighbourhood, but what about the effects on the people who live there?

Other strategies include mandatory building codes to explore the use of noise-reducing materials, sound walls, green buildings and green spaces, trees, natural noise buffers in urban design, quieter cars and electric public transportation, noise ordinances, and zoning laws.

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