CIHT has published a new policy article, Designing Healthier Highways: Mitigating Noise, Light and Air Pollution. The members’ article highlights the critical role of the highways and transportation sector in protecting public health and the environment. 

Published on 24 February 2026, the article explores how transport-related noise, light and air pollution affect communities across the UK, and sets out practical approaches for embedding mitigation into planning, design and asset management. 

The piece responds to growing evidence that, while air pollution is widely recognised as a major health risk, environmental noise and artificial light remain comparatively neglected.  

Understanding the health impacts 

The article outlines how road transport remains a significant contributor to domestic greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. It also highlights emerging evidence on the scale of harm: 

• Research from the UK Health Security Agency estimates that in 2018 around 100,000 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were lost in England due to road traffic noise alone. 
• The Royal College of Physicians has warned that air pollution contributes to the equivalent of around 30,000 deaths annually in the UK and costs more than £27 billion each year. 
• Artificial light at night is linked to sleep disturbance, circadian rhythm disruption and wider ecological impacts, particularly in urban areas and environmentally sensitive rural locations. 

The article also explores how certain groups are disproportionately affected, including children, older people, those with pre-existing health conditions, neurodivergent individuals and communities in socially disadvantaged areas. 

Policy, regulation and practical solutions 

Designing Healthier Highways provides an overview of the UK’s legal and regulatory landscape, including legislation governing statutory nuisance, wildlife protection and air quality standards. It emphasises that compliance alone is not sufficient; proactive, design-led approaches are needed to prevent harm at source. 

The article showcases three case studies demonstrating innovation in practice: 

• Noise Network Plus, led by the University of Surrey, which is embedding noise prevention into engineering design through a mission-oriented research network. 
• Decarbonising Street Lighting in the East Riding of Yorkshire, a national pilot delivered through the ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme, testing low-carbon alternatives to conventional highway lighting while maintaining road safety. 
• The impact of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, where emissions-based charging has accelerated fleet renewal and contributed to measurable reductions in roadside nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions. 

Together, these examples demonstrate how thoughtful design, technological innovation and cross-sector collaboration can reduce harmful emissions, minimise intrusive lighting and create quieter transport corridors. 

A call to embed health in highways practice 

The article concludes that the highways and transportation sector has both a responsibility and an opportunity to deliver healthier environments. By integrating considerations of noise, light and air pollution into policy, planning and engineering from the outset, transport professionals can help create networks that support environmental resilience, public health and wider societal wellbeing. 

CIHT members can read the full article here. 

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For further information, please contact technical@ciht.org.uk.