DETERMINATION OF PRIORITIES FOR UPGRADING STREET LIGHTING IN SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

A STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE TYPE AND AMOUNT OF ROADWAY LIGHTING NEEDED TO REDUCE THE RATIO OF NIGHTTIME TO DAYTIME TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN SYRACUSE, TO ESTABLISH SITE PRIORITIES FOR THE UPGRADING, AND TO ASSESS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF UTILIZING A NATIONAL STANDARD (ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING SOCIETY, 1963) AS THE CRITERION FOR UPGRADING. A METHODOLOGY WAS DEVELOPED FOR MAKING THE NECESSARY SURVEYS AND ASSIGNING PRIORITIES THAT IS SAID TO BE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO SUCH STUDIES AND THAT CAN BE EMPLOYED IN SIMILAR INVESTIGATIONS. THE FINDINGS WERE: (1) INADEQUATE LIGHTING IS ACCOMPANIED BY ABNORMALLY HIGH NIGHT-DAY ACCIDENT AND ACCIDENT COST RATIOS. (2) IN ACCIDENT/ ILLUMINATION RELATIONSHIPS, STREET TYPE IS A GREATER FACTOR THAN ABUTTING LAND USE TYPE. (3) EXCESSIVE LIGHTING CONTRIBUTES TO HIGH NIGHT/DAY RATIOS. (4) THE MOST FAVORABLE NIGHT/DAY RATIOS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC ILLUMINATION LEVELS FOR SPECIFIC STREET TYPES: 0.8 HORIZONTAL FOOT CANDLES FOR MAJOR STREETS IN OUTLYING AREAS, 1.0 HFC FOR COLLECTOR STREETS, AND 1.8 HFC FOR MAJOR STREETS IN DOWNTOWN AND INTERMEDIATE AREAS. (5) UPGRADING THE ILLUMINATION OF SYRACUSE STREETS TO THE RECOMMENDED LEVELS WOULD RESULT IN BENEFIT/COST RATIOS OF 60:1, 5:1, AND 22:1, RESPECTIVELY, FOR THE THREE STREET TYPES.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 82 Pp, 12 FIG, 28 TAB, 9 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  De Leuw, Cather and Company

  1250 Broadway
  New York, NY  United States  10001
• Publication Date: 1970-11

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Crash rates; Days; Economic impacts; Intersections; Land use; Light; Lighting; Night; Streets; Traffic crashes; Urban areas
• Old TRIS Terms: Street intersections
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221205
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 12 1971 12:00AM