There's less road noise in my streetcar suburb two miles from downtown than my parents home in the actual suburbs. The 'arterial' street here is four lanes compared to the six lane giant stroads of the modern suburb my parents live in. Cities aren't noisy... Cars are. Walkers and bikers make no noise.

Apartments are great for knowing neighbors and we have lovely apartment buildings and condos that would be perfect for old couples or young ones.

I truly don't understand the logic here. If you want streets with less traffic just build narrower streets. We're lucky that our streets were built before cars (still have the horse rings on the sidewalk)... No one speeds. How could you?

We do have some 'cul de sacs' that are passable by walkers and bikes but not cars. These have their place but a walkable grid is an absolute requirement for sanity in my opinion.