EFFECTIVENESS OF HOLLAND TUNNEL TRANSITIONAL LIGHTING DURING THE WINTER MONTHS
THE PORT OF NEW YORK AUTHORITY HAS PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE INSTALLATION OF MERCURY- VAPOR TRANSITIONAL LIGHTS IN THE HOLLAND TUNNEL. THE EXPERIMENTS WERE RUN DURING PERIODS OF MAXIMUM ANNOYANCE DUE TO SUN GLARE, WHICH EXISTS FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR PER DAY AT MOST, WHEN THE SUN IS BETWEEN 5 DEGREES NORTH TO 5 DEGREES SOUTH OF DUE EAST. THE TUNNEL APPROACH RAMP IS IN A DUE EAST DIRECTION. SUN POSITION DATA SHOW THAT THE SUN IS ABOVE THE HORIZON IN THAT POSITION ONLY DURING THE PERIOD OF MARCH 21 TO SEPTEMBER 21. ALLOWING FOR RAINY AND CLOUDY DAYS DURING THAT PERIOD, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THIS OCCURS ONLY ABOUT 120 DAYS PER YEAR. THE STUDY REPORTED IN THIS PAPER WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE IF THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC IS AFFECTED DURING THE WINTER MONTHS WHEN THE TUNNEL ENTRANCE RAMP IS SHADED BY LOCAL INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS. IF NOT, POSSIBLY A DECORATIVE FACADE CONSTRUCTED OVER THE PORTAL COULD SHADE THE ENTRANCE IN SUMMER AS WELL AS IN WINTER AND THEREBY REDUCE, IF NOT ELIMINATE, THE NEED FOR EXTENSIVE TRANSITIONAL LIGHTING ALL YEAR LONG. ONCE THE VEHICLE OPERATOR PASSES UNDER A TUNNEL PORTAL THE DECIDED REDUCTION IN LIGHT INTENSITY CAUSES A SPEED REDUCTION UNTIL HIS EYES HAVE ADJUSTED TO THE CHANGE. TRANSITIONAL LIGHTING, OF COURSE, HAS IMPROVED THIS OPERATIONAL FEATURE CONSIDERABLY. NEW FACILITIES ARE BEING EQUIPPED WITH FLARED PORTALS AND VARIABLE TRANSITIONAL LIGHT SOURCES CONTROLLED BY PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS. HOWEVER, ON EXISTING TUNNELS AND UNDERPASSES IT WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE IN MANY CASES TO FLARE THE PORTALS, AND COSTLY INDEED TO REVISE THE FACILITY LIGHTING SYSTEM TO ADAPT AN AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED VARIABLE LIGHT SOURCE. WITH THIS IN MIND IT WAS THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT PROVE EASIER AND MORE ECONOMICAL TO REDUCE THE LIGHT INTENSITY OUTSIDE RATHER THAN INCREASE IT INSIDE THE TUNNEL. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- No 255, pp 79 - 91, 8 FIG, 4 TAB, 6 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Gonseth, Alan T
- Publication Date: 1960
Media Info
- Monograph Title: Night visibility: 1960
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Bulletin
- Issue Number: 255
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Cold weather; Glare; Lighting systems; Mercury vapor lamps; Operations; Street lighting; Sunlight; Traffic flow; Tunnels
- Old TRIS Terms: Mercury lamps; Sun glare; Tunnel lighting
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Bridges and other structures; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00220240
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Sep 9 1994 12:00AM