[Darlington] has been given the dubious honour of being named one of the loudest places in the country for traffic. With a reading of 78.3 decibels (DB), it ranks joint fourth with Doncaster in the noise table.
– Northern Echo: Being driven to distraction on the noisiest road in town
The noisiest place in the town is the junction of Alexander Street and Haughton Road. I’ve found that, to have a conversation with someone while walking down Haughton Road, I need to raise my voice. Hearing what my daughter is saying is almost impossible.
Professor Deepak Prasher, of the Ear Institute at the University College London, said: “Noise not only annoys, but also can raise our stress levels and associated hormone levels. It can disturb sleep and increase the risk of heart disease, and if the noise is loud enough, it can lead to permanent hearing impairment and tinnitus.”
More proof that car use ‘taxes’ others.
This is SO ironic. Darlington called itself The Quiet Town in the 1970s, laughingly interpreted at the time as the place where nothing went on!
“I’ve lived here 20 years and it doesn’t bother me,” said Ann Cooper, 59. “I find it a busy road, but I do not find it noisy.”
Neighbour Gemma Musgrave, 23, was also surprised by the results of the study.
“I’ve lived here all my life and I don’t notice the traffic. It does not wake the children up, either,” she said. “I never really notice the noise, it is only in the summer if you have all the windows open; you hear it a bit then.”
-Northern Echo article
I interviewed miners wives in Easington 10 years ago, after the pit had closed and the tips landscaped “It’s funny, I never really noticed the pitheaps”, one of them said. “I just thought of it as the source of the next wage packet”.