Lisbon, March 4, 2026 (Lusa) - The city council in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, is going to create a municipal noise regulation, having approved on Wednesday a period for collecting suggestions, with the aim of reducing the number of people exposed to outdoor noise and improving the quality of the acoustic environment.
"For more efficient management of this issue, it is important to draw up municipal noise regulations for the municipality of Lisbon, implementing the provisions of the General Noise Regulations, together with rules that, without contradicting them, respond to the specific characteristics of the municipality of Lisbon," reads the proposal signed by the Councillor for the Environment and Climate Action, Vasco Anjos (IL).
At a private meeting of the municipal executive, the proposal to begin drafting municipal noise regulations was unanimously approved, setting a period for interested parties to participate, to run for 20 working days after the publication of a notice on the institutional website and in the Lisbon Municipal Bulletin.
According to the proposal, to which Lusa had access, suggestions must be submitted in writing, through a petition addressed to the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), to be sent electronically to dmaevce. daeac@cm-lisboa.pt, or by post to the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, located at Praça José Queirós, n.º 1, 3.º Piso-Fração 5, 1800-237 Lisbon.
With the creation of the noise regulation, the local authority of Lisbon aims to "reduce the number of people exposed to outdoor noise and improve the quality of the acoustic environment".
The assessment and management of noise in Lisbon is a responsibility of the local authority, in accordance with the General Noise Regulation, in conjunction with the Environmental Noise Assessment and Management Regime (which results from the transposition of a directive of the European Parliament and the European Council), which stipulate the mandatory use of various instruments for monitoring and tracking noise-related issues, and also define objectives to be achieved in terms of environmental noise assessment and management.
According to data from 2022, released by the local authority, road traffic in Lisbon continues to be the main source of outdoor environmental noise in the city, and it is estimated that 13.6% of the resident population is affected by levels above the legal limit.
As part of the update of Lisbon's strategic noise map, with 2022 as the reference year, it was found that all of the city's roads affect 74,118 residents of the local authority, representing around 13.6% of the population of 545,761 inhabitants, who are exposed to ambient noise levels above 65 decibels, associated with overall disturbance (dB(A)), depending on the noise indicator for the day. 761 inhabitants, who are exposed to ambient noise levels above 65 decibels, associated with overall discomfort - dB(A) -, according to the noise indicator for day, evening and night (Lden), i.e. for a 24-hour period.
Based on the Lisbon Municipal Master Plan regulations, the entire municipal territory is classified as a mixed zone, "the population should not be exposed to outdoor ambient noise levels higher than those defined in the General Noise Regulations, at 65 dB(A) and 55 dB(A) respectively for the Lden and Ln indicators [noise indicator for the night, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.]".
Other sources of noise identified are rail transport infrastructure, Humberto Delgado Airport, the Carris tram network and nightlife areas.
To combat noise and safeguard residents' right to rest, Lisbon city council has banned the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption outside establishments, applicable throughout the city, from 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from midnight on Friday, Saturday and the eve of public holidays. This measure came into force on 14 February and is "preventive" in nature, to remain in force until the Regulation on Establishment Opening Hours is amended.
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