Pedestrian/Walkway & Bike Path Lighting Design Guide

Walkway lighting

Pedestrian/Walkway & Bike Path Lighting is one of the most common applications in city landscaping or site plan design. In pedestrian and bikeway lighting applications, people should consider the traffic volume, presence of pedestrians, and ambient light levels. The lighting fixtures installed in this scenario should be able to adapt and adjust in terms of the condition changes. The adaptive lighting also helps to reduce energy consumption and light pollution.

Pedestrian Conflict Area Classification

The classification of pedestrian conflict area describes the activities abutting a street can occur. The volume of pedestrians occurring in unit hour determines the illuminance value for areas such as pathways, crosswalk, etc.

Pedestrian Conflict Area Classification
Design Requirements of Pedestrian/Walkway & Bike Path Lighting

Most of the time, bike path lighting is neglected as people suppose the biking activities usually happen during daytime. However, an increasing number of people are using bikes for fun or as an alternative to auto cars in daily transportation, so the need for bike path lighting is increasing. According to the urban transportation report, the lack of streetlights is the factor that doubles the probability of a bicyclist suffering a fatal injury in an accident. The bike path lighting enables the bikes to follow the following road, see pedestrians and potential dangers easily. In general, the bike path lighting is essential in providing safety to the site.

In a bike path lighting scenario, an average lighting level of 5 lux is a common requirement. On special occasions, 10 lux is required as the minimum lighting level. For indoor applications, the lighting requirement can be quite different. On the velodromes, 300 lux light level is recommended for training and general activities, while 600 lux light level is recommended for bicycle races. In these areas, emergency lighting equipment should be used which can provide 150 lux light levels in order to continue to ride safely in case of blackouts.

IES published a standard practice for roadway lighting, RP-8, 2000. According to the recommended illumination levels for miscellaneous systems. Referring to the DG-5-94 criteria, the minimum average horizontal illumination bikeways (class 1) with High Pedestrian Conflict Areas are 10 lux (1.0 fc) with uniformity ratio of 4:1.

The Benefits of SOLTECH Pedestrian & Bike Path Lights
SUNLIKE 30W product picture
SOLTECH: the only solar lighting manufacturer approved by the City of Los Angeles for bike path applications

In 2020, SOLTECH’s SUNLIKE 30W 3000K CCT fixture was approved by the City of Los Angeles for bike path applications. With SOLTECH’s recent approval, it highlights the importance of outdoor lighting design. Given the significant miles of bike paths, greenways, and parks, it is difficult and expensive to install traditional on-grid lighting in such areas. In contrast, SOLTECH’s solar lights can work optimally, are easy to install, and extremely inexpensive when compared to traditional lighting.

Multiple Types of Fixtures in Bikeway Lighting

There are multiple types of lighting fixtures that can be used in bike path lighting. For example, the streetlight, flood light, and even bollard light. According to the report from urban study, the improved street lighting provided higher luminosity, improved color rendition of outdoor objects and created less light pollution. In addition to providing great illuminance, SOLTECH also considers the landscaping aesthetics, dark sky compliance, and so forth.

ORINDA Preview
ORINDA

ORINDA decorative streetlights are well-designed especially for city landscaping or decoration use. The classic fixture style is perfect for any urban street decor and gives pedestrians a historical, ambient feel.

SUNDIAL
SUNDIAL

Living a sunflower lifestyle, SUNDIAL was designed with a smart solar tracking system. SUNDIAL solar panel has a full 360 design, which enables the solar panel to adjust the tilt angle automatically and maximize the intake of the solar energy. Compared with traditional solar bollard lights, SUNDIAL increased charging efficiency by at least 50%.

Reference

  1. Demand Response Technology Evaluation Mackenzie Labs (etcc-ca.com)
  2. Lighting of Bike Paths – Lighting Equipment Sales
  3. Hebert, P., Sammons, T., Kang, M., & H.-J. Lee. (2013). Pedestrian and bike path illumination for safety and security: Empirical pre- and post-field studies by A university team. Southampton: W I T Press. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/UT130601
  4. Street lighting, bike path, traffic signal, open space design and engineering structures [tender documents : T433463078]. (2018). MENA Report, Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/street-lighting-bike-path-traffic-signal-open/docview/2019948247/se-2?accountid=158986
  5. Make bike path more usable by lighting trail. (2001, May 28). Argus Leader Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/make-bike-path-more-usable-lighting-trail/docview/873176548/se-2?accountid=158986
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