Europe’s Noise Capital Tries to Turn Down the Volume

By mid-morning, Rue d'Avron is a cacophony. The clank of metal rings out from scaffolding works; greengrocers yell and gesture as crates of deliveries arrive; and streams of chattering commuters pour out of the metro.

But the loudest racket comes from columns of fast-moving traffic lining both sides of the street, which runs from the infamous ring road surrounding Paris known as the périphérique and into the city center: the two-note sirens of police cars, the diesel rumble of buses and, worst of all, the high-pitched wail of motor scooters that speed by every few seconds.