Definition of traffic scennaries, application on a practise case of the criteria followed by the guide of good practises for elaboration of strategic traffic noise maps in urban routes

Configuration of noisy environment in towns mostly depends on characterization of traffic noise in urban routes. Nevertheless, frequently there are lacks of information when it is a question of having data from the whole urban area. To solve these lacks the above-mentioned guide (WG-AEN 002.2006) proposes some default values for an approach for this characterization which can turn out to be very generalists in practical applications. Through the presentation of these criteria applied to two practical cases, this paper proposes a tool necessary to adjust real traffic characterization to the elaboration of noise maps and definition of an Action Plan. The analyzed variables are: AVT, % of heavy vehicles, time distribution and speed considering, for this last factor, the lacks shown by the interim method and the applicable supposes based upon the state of the art. As a conclusion, this paper proposes the use of data corresponding to official traffic information or based on counts, when possible. If this kind of data is not available it is recommended to follow the Good Practise Guide. But instead of taking into account the absolute default values, the relationship between the different roads types should be used, in order to characterize the traffic distribution in the city for noise mapping.