The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

G8 Street Furniture and Street Lighting

CHAPTER AIMS

• Describe how street furniture that offers amenity to pedestrians is to be encouraged but clutter avoided.
• Comment on street furniture and lighting design relating to context.
• Explain that lighting should be planned as an integral part of the street layout.
• Recommend that where lighting is provided it should conform to European standards.

G8.1 INTRODUCTION

G8.1.1 Street furniture and lighting equipment have a major impact on the appearance of a street and should be planned as part of the overall design concept. Street furniture should be integrated into the overall appearance of a street. Street audits can help determine what existing street furniture and lighting is in place and can help designers respond to the context.

G8.1.2 It is especially important that, in historic towns and conservation areas, particular attention is paid to the aesthetic quality of street furniture and lighting. Care should be taken to avoid light pollution and intrusion, particularly in rural areas. In some cases it may not be appropriate to provide lighting, for example in a new development in an unlit village.

G8.1.3 Street furniture that encourages human activity can also contribute to a sense of place. The most obvious example of this is seating, or features that can act as secondary seating. In addition, street features such as play equipment may be appropriate in some locations, particularly in designated Home Zones, in order to anchor activity.

G8.1.4 Where street furniture or lighting is taken out of service, it should be removed.

G8.2 STREET FURNITURE

G8.2.1 Excessive street furniture, including equipment owned by utilities and third parties, should be avoided.

G8.2.2 Street furniture of direct benefit to street users, particularly seating, is encouraged but should be sympathetic to the design of the street and respect pedestrian desire lines (Fig. G8.1).

Figure G8.1 Well-designed seating.

G8.2.3 Seating is necessary to provide rest points for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility or visual impairments and extra seating should be considered where people congregate, such as squares, local shops and schools. Guidance is given in Inclusive Mobility ¹ and BS 8300 ². Seating can sometimes attract anti-social behaviour and therefore should be located where there is good lighting and natural surveillance.

G8.2.4 Although much street furniture is provided for the benefit of motorised users, it is generally located on the footway and can contribute to clutter. In some circumstances, it may be possible to reduce footway clutter by placing some of these items on build-outs.

G8.2.5 Street furniture, including lighting columns and fittings, needs to be resistant to vandalism and be placed in positions that minimise risk of damage by vehicles.

G8.2.6 Street furniture and lighting should be located within the limits of the adoptable area. Street furniture should be aligned on footways, preferably at the rear edge in order to reduce clutter. Care should be taken that street furniture at the rear edge of the footway does not make adjoining properties less secure by providing climbable access to windows.

G8.2.7 All street furniture should be placed to allow access for street cleaning and winter maintenance.

G8.2.8 Guard railing is generally installed to restrict the movement of vulnerable road users (Fig. G8.2). In some cases guard railing has been introduced in specific response to accidents.

G8.2.9 Guard railing should not be provided unless a clear need for it has been identified (Fig. G8.2). Introducing measures to reduce traffic flows and speeds may be helpful in removing the need for guard railing. In most cases, it is unlikely that guard railing will be required on residential streets.

Figure G8.2 Guard railing blocking pedestrian desire line - note some pedestrians in the photograph have walked around it (Ellon, WSP).

G8.2.10 It may sometimes be necessary to introduce barriers to pedestrian movement. Where they are required, consideration should first be given to the use of features such as surface textures, bench seating and planting that can guide pedestrian movement whilst also contributing to the amenity of the street.

G8.3 LIGHTING

G8.3.1 Lighting can contribute to:

• improving road safety;
• assisting in the protection of property;
• discouraging crime and vandalism;
• making residents and street users feel secure; and
• enhancing the appearance of the area after dark.

G8.3.2 Lighting may not be appropriate in all locations or contexts. However, if it is to be provided it should be of high quality. Lighting should generally be in accordance with BSEN 13201-2 ³, BSEN 13201-3 ⁴ and BSEN 13201-4 ⁵. Guidance on lighting design is given in BS 5489-1, Code of Practice for the Design of Road Lighting ⁶, to comply with the requirements of BSEN 13201. Further guidance is contained within Controlling Light Pollution and Reducing Lighting Energy Consumption⁷, Planning Advice Note: 51: Planning, Environmental Protection and Regulation⁸ and Planning Advice Note 77: Designing Safer Places⁹.

G8.3.3 Where streets are to be lit, lighting should be planned as an integral part of the design of the street layout. PAN 77⁹ recommends that when considering the most appropriate type of lighting, the following should be taken into account: location, setting, relationship and distribution of other lighting, aesthetic design, intensity, timing (taking into account seasonal differences), resistance to vandalism and the cost, frequency and ease of maintenance. This may require coordination between authorities to ensure that similar standards of lighting are provided for the adopted street and un-adopted areas, such as car parking. Consideration should be given when planting to the potential impact of growth shading out lighting, this is particularly relevant for certain types of trees.

G8.3.4 Lighting columns should be placed so that they do not impinge on available widths of footways in the interests of wheelchair users and people pushing prams, or pose a hazard for visually impaired people. Consideration should be given to incorporating colour contrast bands on lighting columns.

G8.3.5 Lighting should illuminate both the carriageway and the footway, including any traffic-calming features, to enable road users to see potential obstacles and each other after dark. The lighting design should ensure that shadows are avoided in streets where pedestrians may be vulnerable. Adequate lighting helps reduce crime and the fear of crime, and can encourage increased pedestrian activity.

G8.3.6 While lighting fulfils a number of important purposes in residential areas, care should be taken not to over-light, which can contribute unnecessarily to light pollution, neighbourhood nuisance and energy consumption.

G8.3.7 Lighting arrangements may be used to identify the functions of different streets. For example, a change of light source to provide whiter lighting can distinguish a residential or urban street from the high-pressure sodium (honey coloured) and the low-pressure sodium (orange coloured) lighting traditionally used on traffic routes. This contrast may be reduced over time if white-light sources become more commonly used in road-lighting schemes.

LIGHTING EQUIPMENT ON BUILDINGS

G8.3.8 Consideration should be given to attaching lighting units to buildings to reduce street clutter (Fig. G8.3). Under the section 35 (5) of the Roads (Scotland) Act ¹⁰ Local Authorities have the power to fix lighting to rails, walls or buildings, subject to a statutory consultation with involved parties and a specified notice period. While maintenance and access issues can arise from the installation of such features on private property, some authorities have successfully addressed these concerns. It is important that wall-mounted lighting is carefully designed to reduce obtrusive light. There are likely to be fewer challenges arising from the placement of lighting on buildings in new-build streets.

Figure G8.3 Street light mounted on a building.

PROVISION OF LIGHTING IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS - KEY ISSUES

G8.3.9 Key issues in the provision of lighting in residential areas are:

• context;
• lighting intensity;
• scale; and
• colour

CONTEXT

G8.3.10 Lighting should be appropriate and sympathetic to the context. In some locations, such as rural villages, lighting may not have been provided elsewhere in the settlement and therefore it would be inappropriate in a new development. Often, lighting suits road illumination requirements but is not in keeping with the street environment or the range of uses of that street. A street lighting assessment can be helpful in determining both the level of lighting and the type of equipment used in the area.

G8.3.11 Over-lighting should be avoided. More detailed information is given in the Guidance Note Controlling Light Pollution and Reducing Lighting Energy Consumption. ⁷ This provides advice on techniques to minimise obtrusive light and recommends that planning authorities specify four environmental zones for lighting in ascending order of brightness, from National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to city centres. This is helpful in determining limits of light obtrusion appropriate to the local area.

LIGHTING INTENSITY

G8.3.12 Guidance on the appropriate level of lighting in an area is contained in BS 5489-1 Annex B ¹¹. This advice provides a systematic approach to the choice of lighting class based on:

• type of road or area;
• pedestrian and cycle flow;
• presence of conflict areas;
• presence of traffic-calming features;
• crime risk; and
• ambient luminance levels.

G8.3.13 BSEN 13201-2, Road Lighting - Performance Requirements ¹², gives details of the necessary minimum and average levels of lighting to be achieved at each of the lighting classes. For lightly trafficked residential streets, it is likely that Class ME (primarily vehicular) lighting will be inappropriate and that Classes S (for subsidiary routes) or CE (for conflict areas) should be specified.

G8.3.14 Lighting levels do not have to be constant during the hours of darkness. Increasingly equipment is available which will allow street lighting to be varied or switched off based on timing or ambient light levels. This offers opportunities to design variable lighting to maximise the benefits while reducing negative impacts at times when lower lighting levels may be adequate.

G8.3.15 Continuity of lighting levels is important to pedestrians. Sudden changes in lighting level can be particularly problematic for visually impaired people.

SCALE

G8.3.16 As much street lighting is actually provided for road purposes, it is often located at a height inappropriate to the cross section of the street and out of scale with pedestrian users.

G8.3.17 In street design, consideration should be given to the purpose of lighting, the scale of lighting relative to human users of the street, the width of the street and the height of surrounding buildings. For example, a traffic-calming scheme in Latton in Wiltshire reduced the height of lighting columns by around 40% to make the appearance less urban. In a survey of residents, 58% thought it was a good idea, and only 3% opposed. This arrangement resulted in less intrusion of light into bedroom windows ¹³.

G8.3.18 Where road and pedestrian area lighting are both required, some road authorities installed lamp columns featuring a secondary footway light mounted at a lower height. This can assist in illuminating pedestrian areas well, particularly where footways are wide or shaded by trees. Careful design is essential to ensure that such secondary luminaries do have a detrimental effect on the uniformity of the scheme or increase light pollution.

G8.3.19 While reducing the height of lighting can make the scale more human and intimate, it will also reduce the amount of coverage from any given luminaire. It is therefore a balance between shortening columns and increasing their number.

G8.3.20 Generally in a residential area, columns of 5-6 m, i.e. eaves height, are most appropriate, however it is important that a range of factors are taken into account when determining the height of columns, particularly if lighting is in a designated conservation area.

COLOUR

G8.3.21 The colour of lighting is another important consideration. This relates both to people's ability to discern colour under artificial light and the colour 'temperature' of the light. Light colour temperature is a consequence of the composition of the light, ranging simply from blue (cold) to red (warm).

G8.3.22 In terms of discerning colour, 'colour rendering' is measured on a Colour Rendering Index of Ra0-Ra100 ¹⁴, from no colour differentiation to perfect differentiation. Generally pedestrians prefer whiter lighting. It provides better colour perception which makes it easier to discern street features, information and facial expressions. The latter can be important in allaying personal security concerns. For the lighting of residential and urban streets, an Ra of 50 is desirable - and at least Ra60 is preferable for locations of high pedestrian activity.

G8.3.23 In some contexts, lighting can contribute to the sense of place of a street, with both active and passive (reflective) lighting features blurring the boundary between function and aesthetic to the streetscape.

G9.3.24 As with other forms of street furniture, there are longer-term maintenance issues associated with the choice and location of lighting equipment. It is recommended that this be addressed in the planning process and that equipment which is both sympathetic to the local vernacular and for which adequate replacement and maintenance stock is available be specified.

G9.3.25 In developing lighting schemes, it should be recognised that there will be an interaction between light shed and light reflected from pavement surfaces, etc. Lighting should therefore be developed in co-ordination with discussions about materials and other street furniture.

Belfast Streets Ahead Project

EDAW have been engaged by the Department of Social Development since 2005 in preparing a masterplan for the city centre as an integral part of the ongoing regeneration process.

This has now become the Streets Ahead project with exemplar projects currently going on the ground. Consultation has been fundamental to the whole process in order to ensure that the new public realm will be inclusive in its response to the needs of all users. To this end the process included consulting with 50 different, and very diverse, user groups both individually and within workshops. A great deal of concern was expressed at proposals for shared surface solutions within busy shopping streets and accordingly a Code has been drawn up to which all streets will adhere. Whilst the context may vary the detail of the individual street, fundamental principles remain the same between all streets. Hence, for example, clutter has been removed from the zone nearest the buildings and a defined zone for all furniture is being created. This lies within banded stone strips of a different texture and colour and accommodates all types of street furniture including seating, trees, bins etc. This is the same for each street so anyone who has an impairment to mobility will understand where they can travel easily within the street and where they may encounter difficulties.

The same principles are now being applied to Leith Walk in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Tram works.

« Previous | Contents | Next »