On July 18th at 9:05 p.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON
Vienna (OTS) – Nothing bothers people in their neighborhood as much as noise. Where there is noise, conflicts are inevitable. For the “Am Schauplatz” report “Living where it is loud” – to be seen on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 9:05 p.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON – Nicole Kampl looked across Austria at how noise is for confrontations and how difficult it is to reconcile all interests:
The Arena concert location is a Viennese institution. For decades it hardly bothered anyone when loud concerts took place here. Until a year ago, a total of 1,200 apartments were occupied directly opposite. “When the arena is playing, I can feel the floor vibrating in the screed,” says a neighbor. Anyone who moves here should know that music is often louder in the immediate vicinity. And yet 24 noise complaints were received by MA36, which is responsible for events. The city responded and a new music system was purchased for 600,000 euros. Despite the new sound system, there are still complaints.
A few kilometers further there are planes that are causing trouble. Summertime is holiday flying time – the worst time for those living near the airport. “When I wake up at night, I usually already know which plane it is. For example, the Sun Express to Antalya, which constantly wakes me up,” says Susanne Laschober. She lives in Rauchwarth in Lower Austria, four and a half kilometers from the airport. Together with other citizens’ initiatives, she has been fighting for a ban on night flights for years. 4,700 night flights per year are currently permitted in Vienna Schwechat.
But there are also noise problems in Styria. “If it continues like this, I don’t see a future here anymore because I can’t stand it anymore,” says Eva Reiter from Leoben. “My entire quality of life is gone.” The Styrian woman lives next to a quarry that has already been blasted seven times this year. The problem is not the blasting, but the excavation and drilling work before and after. The citizens’ initiative speaks of 150 noise days per year. But the operator emphasizes that he will comply with all notices. So far, no violations have been detected during noise measurements.
In Innsbruck, Dagmar Eder again suffers from the noise of children playing in Rapoldi Park. “I often start shaking when they scream so loud,” she says. From her terrace, Ms. Eder looks directly at the playground, which has just been redesigned through a citizen participation process. The new ball court in particular is particularly loud. Ms. Eder and her neighbor are fighting for a move to the other end of the park.