The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on road traffic and noise pollution of the urban street, a case study from Krakow, Poland.

The study determined the impact of restrictions introduced by the Ministry of Health in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic on traffic and sound pressure levels in the university building and its immediate vicinity. Mickiewicza Street was selected for the study. It is one of the city's busiest streets, located relatively close to the old historic center, and is the main artery connecting the north and south of the city. There are residential buildings on this street, but primarily offices and institutions, as well as schools and universities. Noise near the street and in buildings located relatively close to the road can be a serious problem in places where peace is required (e.g., libraries, reading rooms, university halls). Therefore, the acoustic comfort needed in these places may be disturbed, and the perception of knowledge acquisition may be limited. The aim of the work was achieved through measurements and analysis of street traffic intensity and sound pressure levels, taking into account pandemic restrictions. Then, statistical analyses were performed, which showed significant variability in traffic intensity and sound pressure values in individual periods of the pandemic. The pandemic's beginning was mainly characterized by a significant decrease in the above data, deviating from the norm. In the pre-pandemic period, an average of 47,733 vehicles passed through the street daily, and the median sound pressure was L