This manual provides direction for the preparation of noise and vibration sections of environmental documents for mass transportation projects. The manual has been developed in the interest of promoting quality and uniformity in assessments. It is expected to be used by people associated with or affected by the urban transit industry, including Federal Transit Administration (FTA) staff, grant applicants, consultants and the general public. Each of these groups has an interest in noise/vibration assessment, but not all have the need for all the details of the process. Consequently, this manual has been prepared to serve readers with varying levels of technical background and interests. It sets forth the basic concepts, methods and procedures for documenting the extent and severity of noise impacts from transit projects.

This guide was written as a quick primer for transportation professionals and analysts who assess the impacts of proposed transportation actions on communities. It outlines the community impact assessment process, highlights critical areas that must be examined, identifies basic tools and information sources, and stimulates the thought-process related to individual projects. In the past, the consequences of transportation investments on communities have often been ignored or introduced near the end of a planning process, reducing them to reactive considerations at best. The goals of this primer are to increase awareness of the effects of transportation actions on the human environment and emphasize that community impacts deserve serious attention in project planning and development-attention comparable to that given the natural environment. Finally, this guide is intended to provide some tips for facilitating public involvement in the decision making process.

This report, based on a draft paper prepared by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and reviewed by Summit participants, presents the results of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency-sponsored study. The paper offers a framework on how such a network could be organised and operated, and explains how the CEAA has used the framework to develop its site on the Internet. The report is also a contribution to the International Study of the Effectiveness of Environmental Assessment. The document proposes a framework for an EA network and looks at the experience of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.