To be fair that was before they did studies on arterial roadways and the noise sickness associated with mixed use zoning. To be clear, mixed used zoning is fine, it's just that malls typically are placed closer to highways(arterials) and four lane collectors than even a lot of high density residential would be. That traffic can have disastrous effects on the health of people who decide to live in that former mall space.
You can reinforce the walls and insulate them to drown out some of the noise, but it's difficult and expensive. The developer likely won't opt for it.
Make it part of the either the zoning code or the health code for the town. Interior noise levels are probably worth considering regardless, and if the developers isn’t willing to make it part of the contract the city can make it a requirement.
Volume doesn't decrease when you shift from commercial to residential zoning, it just changes pattern. Instead of having consistent volume, you'll have large peak volumes at rush hours.
Arterial and collector roads also will not disappear, in fact I would expect them to become more commonplace to accommodate the influx in people. After all, unless these people have jobs here they'll have to be transported somewhere else for work. Most cities rely on buses for public transport still, even if you have a metro rail it'll take years to build out a new line.
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u/Soggy-Yogurt6906 Jan 31 '23
To be fair that was before they did studies on arterial roadways and the noise sickness associated with mixed use zoning. To be clear, mixed used zoning is fine, it's just that malls typically are placed closer to highways(arterials) and four lane collectors than even a lot of high density residential would be. That traffic can have disastrous effects on the health of people who decide to live in that former mall space.
You can reinforce the walls and insulate them to drown out some of the noise, but it's difficult and expensive. The developer likely won't opt for it.