CSS has initiated five street lighting research projects as a significant step in the development of guidance and best practice for the lighting industry and local authorities.
The projects, costing £180,000, are being substantially funded by CSS and are partnered by TfL (Transport for London), SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers in Transportation for Scotland), the ILE (Institution of Lighting Engineers), Transport Scotland and the HA (Highways Agency). Major firms in the lighting industry will also be participating with practical support from a number of test laboratories.
Roger Elphick, who chaired the afternoon session of the 11th Annual Surveyor and ILE Conference & Exhibition in London (11 December 2007), is Chair of the UK Lighting Board and the CSS Street Lighting Group. He said that this jointly-funded programme involves participation from a number of key organisations and is important because it pulls together a number of innovative strands on energy management and minimising the carbon footprint from local authority lighting.
He said: “This is a substantial and highly topical programme of new research and development, much of which will assist in assessing the benefits of various energy saving initiatives and establishing appropriate lighting levels for different street types and locations. They are all subjects that local authorities have on their radar and need to address. Pulling all of this together nationally is quite difficult and that’s where we come in with guidance from these reviews.
“It’s important that we undertake this kind of work because the CSS Research Fund is one of the few sources outside of the DfT where local authority research projects are conducted.”
All five projects were commissioned by Transport for London and should be completed by Spring 2008. It is expected that the results will be presented at a conference later in the year. The projects are:
- A Review of the Class and Quality of Street Lighting on Traffic Routes and Residential Streets. To determine the most appropriate level of lighting for different situations, bearing in mind road safety, crime prevention, environmental and energy considerations.
- Guidance on Financial Returns from ‘Spend to Save’ Initiatives. To assist local authorities in the preparation of bids for funding to improve the efficiency of lighting systems and reduce energy costs.
- A Review of Luminaire Maintenance Factors. To ensure lighting systems are working as efficiently as possible and energy use is minimised.
- The Use of Passive Safety Lighting Columns on Local Roads & Consideration of HA TA 89/05. To consider any modifications that may be required to the current Highways Agency guidance regarding the provision of passively safe lighting and sign installations to make it appropriate for local authority roads.
- A Review of the Requirements for Lighting of Signs and Bollards. To consider whether recommendations can be made for less signs and bollards to be lit, particularly those on refuges that are currently difficult to maintain.
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