F i gur e 540 - 6 . L i gh t i ng pa t t e rns.
of road and pa t hway l i ghts t ends to
F i gur e 540 - 4 . Co l or r ende r i ng
i ndex .
G l a re: A po i nt or sur f ace of l um i nance
tha t is above one ' s cur rent st a t e of adap t a -
t i on . The human v i sua l sys t em can com-
for t ab l y see in l ight l eve l s rang i ng f rom
star l i ght to noonday sun , bu t canno t do so
ove r th i s ent i re range at the same t i me . We
adap t to one l i mi ted range or another , and
perce i ve g l are as any br i ghtness above our
cur rent st a t e of adapt a t i on . D i sab i l i ty g l are
i mpa i rs v i s ibi l i ty and is pr i mar i l y a phys i o-
l og i ca l phenomenon ; e . g ., the n i ght t i me
g l are f rom an oncom i ng veh i c l e ' s head-
l ights can momen t a r i l y b l i nd a dr i ver ' s per -
cept i on of the road ahead . D i scomf or t g l are
does not i mpa i r v i s ibi l i ty but is pr i mar i l y a
psycho l og i ca l phenomenon or an annoy -
ance wh i ch may produce f a t i gue i f i t con-
t i nues over an ex t ended per i od of t i me .
Cuto f f l i ght d i s t r i but i on : A t e rm used in
re f erence to the opt i ca l des i gn of some f ix-
ture t ypes . Proper p l acemen t of l amps and
the use of care fu l l y a l i gned re f l ectors , can
e f f ec t i ve l y e l i m i na t e i nt ense h i gh- ang l e
l ight . Mos t cutof f des i gns severe l y rest r i ct
f i xture i ntens i t i es above 75 degrees f rom
nad i r , tha t is, w i th i n 15 degrees of hor i zon-
ta l (F i gure 540-16) .
MAJOR AND M I NOR ROADS ARE D I ST I NCT , AND PEDESTR I AN
ROUTES DEF I NED.
F i gur e 540 - 5 . L i gh t i ng h i e r a r chy .
3 . 0 GENERAL DES I GN PR I NC I PLES
3 .1 Or i en t a t i on
L i gh t i ng H i erarchy:
Dr i ver and pedes t r i an or i ent a t i on can be
a i ded by prov i d i ng a h i erarchy of l i ght i ng
e f f ec ts tha t cor respond to the d i f f erent
zones and uses of a s i te . For i ns t ance , sub-
t l e but recogn i zab l e d i st i nc t i ons can be
made be t ween ma j or and m i nor roads ,
pa ths , and use areas by vary i ng the d i st r i b-
ut i on and br i ghtness of t he l ight and by
vary i ng the he i ght , spac i ng , and co l or of
l amps (F i gure 540-5) .
At t a i n i ng h i gh l eve l s of i l l um i na t i on
a l ong c i rcu l a t i on rout es does not have to be
a pr i me cons i dera t i on in ou t door l i ght i ng. I f
a c l ear and cons i s t ent sys t em is prov i ded ,
l ow l eve l s may be adequa t e for sa f e c i rcu-
l a t i on .
C l ea r L i gh t i ng Pa t t erns :
C l ear opt i ca l gu i dance can be prov i ded
w i t h the a l i gnmen t of l ight f i xtures pos i -
t i oned in cons i s t ent , recogn i zab l e , and
unamb i guous pa t t erns . A s t agge red l ayout
obscure ra ther t han re i nforce the d i rec t i on
of c i rcu l a t i on and the l oca t i on o f i ntersec-
t i ons (F i gure 540-6) .
3 . 2 I den t i f i ca t i on
Int ersec t i on Ar t i cu l a t i on:
Int ersec t i ons , dec i s i on po i nts , cross i ngs ,
bus stops , steps , ar r i va l po i nts , e t c ., shou l d
be ar t i cu l a t ed in a manne r tha t s i gna l s the i r
presence , shape , and na ture . The i l l umi na-
t i on pa t t ern shou l d serve as a v i sua l cue to
wha t cond i t i ons may l ie ahead .
P l acemen t o f Lum i na i res :
Spac i ng , he i ght , and d i st r i but i on of l um i -
na i res shou l d avo i d fo l i age shadows , pro-
v i de un i formi t y , and ver t i ca l sur f ace i l lumi -
na t i on . H i gh moun t i ng and w i de spac i ng o f
f i xtures may resu l t in d i srupt i ons to the i l lu-
m i na t i on pa t t ern due to t ree shadows
[F i gure 540-7 ( top) ] . Lowe r moun t i ng g IA
he i ght s and c l oser spac i ng be t ween f i xtures n
may crea t e a mor e un i form d i st r i but i on of h
l ight promo t i ng t he pedes t r i an ' s sense of
g
secur i ty. [F i gure 540-7 (bot tom) ] .
J
Dec i d i ng Wha t to L i ght : r
O
O
In some c i rcums t ances , i t may be equa l l y as
i mpor t an t to de t e rm i ne wha t not to l ight as
to de t e rm i ne wha t to l ight (F i gure 540-8) .
u
3 . 3 Sa f e t y
in add i t i on t o poor l i ght i ng l ayout and 0
des i gn , g l are and under l i ght i ng can crea t e
 5 40 - 4
haza rdous cond i t i ons for pedes t r i ans and
veh i c l es .

G l are:
G l are is a ma j or i nh i b i tor of good v i s ibi l i ty
and can be produced by any sca l e of l ight
f i xture , i nc l ud i ng sma l l l ens- t ype s t ep l ights
(F i gure 540-9) .

G l a re is mor e o f a prob l em when

exposed l ight sources , such as l amps or
l enses , can be seen d i rect l y . Lum i na i re l oca-
t i on and moun t i ng he i ght , f i xture t ype , and
l amp i nt ens i ty mus t be care fu l l y se l ec t ed to
op t i m i ze l i ght d i st r i but i on and m i n i m i ze
g l are .
Lowe r moun t i ng l ant erns may or may
not have sharp cutof f opt i cs . I f h i gh-ang l e
i l l umi na t i on is appropr i a t e in order to i l lu-
m i na t e f acades , t rees , and other
s t ree t scape e l ement s , t hen care mus t be
t aken to preven t g l are . An ou t door mock -
up a t n i ght is an exce l l ent t echn i que to use
when dec i d i ng wha t l i ght d i st r i but i on pa t -
t ern and i ntens i ty to use and whe t he r or
not there wi l l be any l i ke l i hood of g l are .

H i gh- ang l ed cobra -head t ypes o f l enses

are a ma j or source of g l are when used
a l ong roadways . Lum i na i res w i th sharp cut -
of fs e f f ec t i ve l y d i rec t the l ight i nto a v i sua l -
ly use fu l and comf or t ab l e pa t t ern .

Unde r l i gh t i ng:

Under l i ght i ng is pot ent i a l l y haza rdous i f

i nsuf f i c i ent l ight is prov i ded to prot ec t
pedes t r i ans and / or veh i c l es f rom pot ent i a l
i n j ury and damage . Suf f i c i ent l i ght is espe -
c i a l l y i mpor t an t in areas whe r e heavy
pedes t r i an t raf f i c is expec t ed , such as near
parks , ba l l f i e lds , and other p l aces tha t
a t t rac t c rowds of peop l e , or whe r e ch i l dren
cross st ree ts . Park i ng areas , access and
egress po i nts , l oad i ng areas , e t c ., shou l d
have adequa t e l i ght i ng to he l p prot ec t dr i -
vers , pedes t r i ans , and veh i c l es . F i gur e 540 - 8 . Wha t t o l i ght and wha t no t t o l i ght .
No t e tha t over l i ght i ng an area can gen-
era t e h i gh amoun t s of g l are , wh i ch can a l so
n crea t e haza rdous cond i t i ons . A care fu l ba l -
ance o f l i ght i ntens i t i es mus t be ach i eved . 1 . Subt l e but recogn i zab l e d i st i nct i ons can be made be t ween ma j or and m i nor roads ,
h Tab l e 540-3 l ists r ecommended l eve l s of pa ths , and use areas by vary i ng the d i st r i but i on and br i ghtness of the l ight and by
i l l umi na t i on as s t a t ed in the I l l um i na t i ng vary i ng the he i ght , spac i ng , and co l or of l amps (F i gure 540-5) .
J Eng i nee r i ng Soc i e t y ' s IES L i ght i ng 2 . C l ear l i ght i ng pa t t erns re i nforce the d i rect i on of c i rcu l at i on, de l i nea t e i ntersect i ons ,
r Handbook . Leve l s o f l i ght i ng are re l a ted to and prov i de a v i sua l cue to wha t cond i t i ons may l ie ahead .
O t ypes of use and other charac t er i st i cs w i th- 3 . G l are f rom exposed l ight sources and under l i ght i ng are ma j or sa f e ty concerns (F i gure
O in use areas. 540-9) . Lum i na i re l oca t i on and moun t i ng he i ght , f i xture type , and l amp i ntens i ty
mus t be care fu l l y se l ec t ed to opt i m i ze l ight d i st r i but i on and m i n i m i ze g l are .
u 3 .4 Secur i ty 4 . Secur i ty is not necessar i l y enhanced by i ncreas i ng i l l umi nance l eve l s on the ground ;
cons i der per i phera l l ight ing, ver t i ca l i l l umi nance l eve l s, and good co l or - render i ng
Darkness , toge ther w i th unf am i l i ar sur - sources as we l l .
round i ngs , can inc i te s t rong f ee l i ngs of 5 . Co l or d i f ferent i at i on, unobt rus i ve i l l umi na t i on of background spaces , and br i ght i l lu-
i nsecur i ty. To prov i de a sense of secur i ty , m i na t i on of ob j ec ts of i nterest are common approaches for ar t i cu l at i ng l andscape
poss i b l e h i d i ng p l aces and dense shadows charac t er .
 540 - 5
shou l d be m i n i m i zed by the p l acemen t of
appropr i a t e l ight f i xtures .

Wa l kway L i ght s:
Wa l kway l i ghts shou l d have enough
per i phera l d i st r i but i on to i l l um i na t e the
i mmed i a t e sur round i ngs . Ver t i ca l l ight d i s-
t r i but i on ove r wa l kway areas shou l d cover
or over l ap a t a he i ght of 2 100 mm (7 f t ) so
tha t v i sua l recogn i t i on of other pedes t r i ans
is ma i n t a i ned (F i gure 540-10) . When the
pedes t r i an ' s sense of secur i ty is a pr i mary
cons i dera t i on , l ow moun t i ng he i ght w i th
c l ose spac i ng and a ver t i ca l i l l um i na t i on
pa t t ern may be the mos t e f f ec t i ve
approach .

Surve i l l ance :

For surve i l l ance needs , l i ght i ng requ i re-

men t s shou l d perm i t the de t ec t i on of susp i -
c i ous movemen t ra ther than prov i de for the
recogn i t i on of de f i n i t i ve deta i l s . For the
same expend i ture of l ight energy , i t is o f t en
mor e e f f ec t i ve to l i ght backgrounds , there -
by genera t i ng s i l houe t t es , t han to l i ght the
f oreground (e .g ., l i ght i ng the ver t i ca l f ace
of a bu i l d i ng i ns t ead of i ts hor i zont a l fore-
ground (F i gure 540-11) . I t is a l so des i rab l e
to h i gh l i ght ent rances and to d i rect l i ght i ng
away f rom po i nt s of surve i l l ance .

Vanda l i sm :

The bes t way to reduce the vanda l i sm of

l ight f i xtures is to use f i xtures tha t are
durab l e enough to w i ths t and abuse , or to
p l ace t hem ou t of reach . An a l t erna t i ve
so l ut i on may be to use ha rdwa r e tha t is l ess
expens i ve to rep l ace .

3 .5 Atmosphere and Charac t er

A cons i s t ency of des i gn express i on can be
ach i eved by i dent i f y i ng the common e l e-
men t s in a l andscape tha t g i ve i t charac t er ,
and t hen us i ng s i mi l ar approaches to the i r
l i ght i ng . The c l ar i ty w i t h wh i ch an ob j ec t is
perce i ved is i n f l uenced by i ts con t ex t .

Background: g
n
Ext er i or spaces shou l d have a we l l -de f i ned
sense of background . Background spaces h
shou l d be i l l um i na t ed as unobt rus i ve l y as g
poss i b l e to mee t the func t i ona l needs o f J
sa f e c i rcu l a t i on and prot ec t i ng peop l e and r
proper t y. Wheneve r poss i b l e , these needs O
shou l d be accommoda t ed w i th per i phera l
O
d
l i ght i ng f rom t he wa l kways , s i gnage ,
ent rances , and other e l emen t s re l evant to
the de f i n i t i on of the space .

For eground :
Foreground spaces or ob j ec t s may be ma j or
e l emen t s and shou l d be t rea t ed accord i ng-

T i me -Saver St andards for Landscape Arch i t ec tu