The address Rosengartenstrasse sounds like a little paradise on earth.
It sounds like a lot of green, cozy corners and little noise.
The Rosengartenstrasse in Zurich is anything but a refuge, but one of the loudest driving routes in all of Switzerland.
Cars, trucks and public transport thunder down the gently sloping street day and night.
Anyone who talks about quality of life has to leave out the Rosengartenstrasse in Zurich.
In Germany, the Federal Environment Agency does not mince words. Under the title "Stress reactions and cardiovascular diseases" it writes on its homepage: "Too much sound - in strength and duration - can cause lasting health impairments or damage". Stress reactions arise in the entire organism and also on non-hearing-impairing levels. Noise - from neighbors, from craftsmen or from the street - has a much more direct impact on the residents affected than the all-round lamented climate change in the cities and the sorely missed view from balconies and terraces. It is therefore seen today as part of a broad-based environmental policy. The compact building has intensified the sensitivities. In Switzerland these are perhaps even stronger than in Germany.With regard to Zurich, the “NZZ” recently complained: “Since the courts have made the noise protection regulations stricter, every neighbor can easily prevent an unpopular housing project.”
Location before volume
When the neighbor is hammering and sawing fervently, or when lively groups ring in the weekend in inner courtyards, the residents' anger quickly increases.
In view of this, it is astonishing that the noise factor only influences property prices marginally and as part of the “micro-location” such as the surrounding shops or the proximity to local public transport.
Even properties near the airport or the motorway are easy to sell in view of the great demand, says Sebastian Grimm from the international brokerage company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) in Germany.
What counts is the good infrastructure of the big cities.
"Against this background, the noise is usually accepted with approval," says Grimm.
In the evasive movements of prospective buyers and renters to the countryside, however, the hope of more peace and quiet for families is likely to play a role, adds the expert.
Nevertheless: having one's own four walls as a place of retreat and quiet zone are popular, even if many trends - for example the construction of small apartments and "tiny houses" - run counter to this.
Everything is regulated by law
The legislature cannot be accused of inaction. Much is regulated in detail in the Federal Immission Control Act and subsequent ordinances, as well as in the building regulations. In addition, DIN standard 18005, for example, deals specifically with noise protection in urban development. Even allotment gardens have their turn. The Federal Allotment Garden Act reminds, among other things, of the general quiet at noon between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. as well as the night rest from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays. The EU is also involved, for example with the Environmental Noise Directive of 2002, which requires the member states to map noise.
Formally, the matter is clear. Those who cause “inadmissible noise” can be fined up to 5000 euros according to the law on administrative offenses. This affects tradespeople who use loud equipment before daybreak, as well as people who let their motorbikes howl for a long time in the backyard for no reason. Even the popular leaf blowers do not always have a free run, just like noisy high-pressure cleaners. But there is no rule without exception, for example in the case of urgent repair work. And against the man with the hedge trimmer, for example, the legislature has nothing at all during the day. In addition, the federal government and the individual federal states stipulate various rest times, for example the midday rest from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. This is not always as easy to regulate as the nationwide Sunday and public holiday rest, which applies from midnight to midnight.