LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/120967
What kind of street and pedestrian lighting is being installed across the country these days? We know many cities are continuing to retrofit lighting to be more energy efficient. And, as you���ll see in the feature, many locales are selecting to retrofit with LEDs to save energy and maintenance costs. Other cites are opting for other proven modern technology, and selecting various high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp types. And when it comes to the poles, bases and luminaires the cities are selecting, you���ll see some prefer the styles of bygone days, street lighting that looks like it could be at home in the early 1900s, but is fabricated of light, modern materials and advanced lenses and reflectors. Still, other cities are going with more modern looking styles that definitely say, ���We���re looking to the future, not the past.��� So, from Hercules, Calif., to Calgary, Ontario, from La Crosse, Wis., to Norfolk, Va., from the more obscure nooks and crannies of the country (Haily, Idaho, Founders Park, S.D., Pittsfield, Mass.), to the more familiar locales (Decatur, Ill., Omaha, Neb., Atlantic City), take a look at the changing face of city lighting and tell us what you think. Unlike Tom Bodett���s promise to Motel 6 patrons, we won���t be leaving the light on for you ��� that���s just not energy efficient, even if it is LED. As part of its economic redevelopment, Pittsfield, Mass. has enhanced the downtown with brick inlays along the sidewalks, trees, decorative benches, large planters, street art, signage and new lighting to replace the 250-watt highpressure sodium cobra head luminaires. In their place are ���Tear Drop��� lighting fixtures that replicate the luminaires popular along U.S. boulevards during the first half of the 20th century. The initial fixtures were 250-watt pulse-start metal halide lamps mounted on Holophane���s period Columbia Series cast iron/steel 22 foot high poles with banner arms and waterproof receptacles. Once the Holophane Tear Drop LED fixtures became available, the city began to install them on the 22-foot Columbia Series poles. The LEDs perform like their metal halide counterparts, but with a 47 percent reduction in wattage. The city installed 57 single luminaires and 19 double fixtures; the double units went in the medians and a park near the boulevard. Fixtures are spaced 100 feet apart and mostly staggered. Pole foundations were installed to accommodate the city���s existing underground infrastructure. 42 Landscape Architect and Specifier News