BETTER STREET LIGHTING

BETTER STREET LIGHTING

THE steady increase in night traffic emphasises the necessity for adequate and efficient illumination of roads and streets.

The Automobile Association has recently closely investigated street lighting conditions in Greater London. The types of lighting employed include electricity, incandescent gas, high pressure gas (which is practically super-charged incandescent gas) and carbon-arc lighting. All these systems are used in a variety of ways, and the strength of

illumination varies according to candle power, voltage, etc. Different methods of diffusion of light are used ; while some lamps are fixed on standards, others are hung across the roadways.

In cases where lamp posts are staggered, instead of being erected in line on the kerb, the road surface is better lighted, especially in residential streets or roads across commons and open spaces. One London park is lighted by two Authorities. One Authority provides generous illumination, the other does not. Standardisation of street lighting (and

possibly re-arrangement of lighting Authorities’ boundaries) is the obvious remedy, and one which has recently received the close study of the Illumination Bodies of the British Engineering Standards Association.

The A.A., in the interests of road users is always pressing for general improvement in street lighting, and information from members concerning any roads or streets which are adequately illuminated, thereby rendering unnecessary the use of headlamps, will be welcomed by the Association.