Bill > S1844

This bill directs the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), a public transportation agency serving the Greater Boston area, to conduct a thorough sound study along the Red Line train route in Quincy and Braintree, specifically from the Neponset River Bridge to the Braintree Red Line Train Station. This study, to be performed by an acoustical engineer, will measure the noise levels generated by MBTA trains and compare them to the existing background noise, known as ambient A-weighted sound pressure levels, which is the level exceeded ninety percent of the time during operating hours over at least a twenty-four-hour period. If the study finds that train noise in residential areas exceeds the ambient noise by ten or more decibels, the MBTA is then ordered to install sound barriers to reduce this noise pollution. The design of these barriers must be approved by an acoustical engineer hired by the MBTA, and subsequently by the MBTA itself and the local Board(s) of Health Departments after a public hearing.