Developing an Innovative Urban Traffic Noise Monitoring System
The transportation policies focusing on minimizing the environmental impact aim at an improved quality of life and health of the population, the urban one in particular. Noise pollution is one of the biggest problems associated with the European urban environment at the present moment, mainly because of the ever-increasing road traffic. SUNET system (System for Urban Noise and Eco-Traffic) was designed to improve the management of the noise pollution in Cluj-Napoca and to provide up-to-date public data on a user-friendly interface. The implementation of the application over the entire municipality is highly advantageous as it creates a link between the town’s administration (the local authorities, the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca) and the user (the citizens) through this system which is dynamic, modern and compliant with the European regulations. The graphic interface uses the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) code, while the database is set up in an SQL (Structured Query Language) format and contains information about the characteristics of the system and users alike, all organized in specific tables. The need for an online urban noise pollution monitoring system, such as the SUNET one, appears to allow the provision of fairly realistic and up-to-date information and encourage the community to actively assist in the application of proper action plans and the decision-making process when it comes to the population’s exposure to high levels of noise pollution.