environmental protection 841 the impact of intersection type on traffic noise levels in residential areas Tamara Džambas, Saša Ahac, Vesna Dragčević University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Transportation, Croatia Abstract Today road traffic noise represents one of the most serious environmental problems in urban areas. It is well known that the specific deceleration and acceleration dynamics of traffic at road intersections can cause different noise levels than free-flow traffic on open road se- gments. Also, each intersection type has variously distributed sections with different traffic flow conditions: constant speed, stop and go, deceleration and acceleration. The aim of re- search described in this paper is to establish whether the design of road intersection has influence on traffic noise emissions and to establish which intersection type is most suitable for application in urban areas, where residential buildings are often placed directly next to the noise source – in this case, the intersection. Models used for noise modeling in this research consist of two identical intersecting roads connected as follows, by mini roundabout and by intersection with or without traffic lights. Traffic noise calculations were conducted by means of specialized noise prediction software LimA using modified static noise calculation method RLS 90. Accuracy of roundabout noise model described in this paper had been verified in previous studies by comparison of measured noise levels and calculated noise levels on a number of urban roundabouts. Keywords: intersection type, road traffic noise levels, traffic flow, noise modeling 1 Introduction Today, in time of rapid technological progress and urbanization, and due to everyday expo- sure of population to high noise levels, negative effects of noise from various sources are increasingly noticed. Road traffic noise comprises an appreciable segment of total share of disturbance caused by noise in residential areas and therefore engineers are constantly wor- king on finding new, more efficient and also most cost-effective protection measures that would reduce its levels to those prescribed by regulations. It is well known that the specific dynamics of traffic flow at road intersections can influence local noise emission. Considering the fact that each intersection type has variously distribu- ted sections with different traffic flow conditions (constant speed, stop and go, deceleration and acceleration) and the fact that vehicles under stop-and-go conditions produce more noise compared to traffic at a constant speed [1], it can be stated with certainty that traffic noise levels depend on intersection geometry and applied traffic regulation. A problem with increased noise levels in the vicinity of intersections especially occurs in urban areas where residential buildings are placed right next to the road. Minor city streets are usu- ally intersected by regular crossings with or without traffic lights and, lately, by roundabouts. In this paper, traffic noise modeling of these three most common types of urban road inter- sections is described. The road traffic noise analysis was conducted by means of specialized noise prediction software LimA using static German RLS 90 model, modified for the use in local 28–30 April 2014, Split, Croatia 3 rd International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure