Interesting point. We don’t even need to talk about basketballs. I find buses in New York to be a lot noisier than personal vehicles.

Even if you take into account the multiplied factor of personal vehicles that would otherwise (possibly) be on the road, the sounds would be much more spread out.

When I’m having an al fresco meal in the city, I never notice the cars. The snarling and snorting buses interrupt conversations.