Design and performance of pedestrian subway lighting systems

摘要

Pedestrian subways can provide for safe and convenient movement of pedestrians across busy roads and similar obstacles. However, fear for personal safety may deter use, particularly at night. Good lighting is an important part of subway design, yet design guides and standards specify only limited criteria for performance, e.g. maintained horizontal illuminance. Various types and arrangements of luminaires are in common use, but as-installed lighting performance is variable. Lighting performance also deteriorates over time, not least due to prevailing environmental conditions. The Hong Kong Government is responsible for over 330 pedestrian subways distributed throughout the territory, making maintenance a significant ongoing commitment. A survey of subway lighting systems has been undertaken to evaluate the performance of the systems against design standards, and to ascertain the opinions of subway users on perceived lighting quality, with a view to identifying the most successful design solutions. Factors affecting the life cycle costs of the most common lighting systems installed in Government maintained subways are also discussed.