Before moving to Ithaca, New York, more than 20 years ago, I lived on Main Street in the town of Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Cars would go by at 40 mph, sometimes 50 mph late at night. On-street parking buffered pedestrians from the fast-moving traffic, but crossing the street was uncomfortable. Few residents used their front yards or sat on porches or stoops. 

On the other side of my apartment was a freight line, where the trains came through at 3 a.m. with loud whistles. I soon learned to sleep through that, it was the constant traffic noise on Main Street that wore on me (It wasn’t the volume of traffic so much as the speed—above about 35 miles per hour automobiles get loud, and that’s related to their kinetic energy). 

Read more at Georgia Municipal Association.