Lighting
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Lighting in downtown should support and encourage shopping activities at night as well as provide a safe environment. Proper lighting design downtown can serve the interests of both the City and the business community, improve nighttime security, and enhance the appearance of the area. Lighting design should, therefore, address the needs of pedestrians, vehicles, amenities and special uses.

Typically, there are three kinds of lighting that should occur to accommodate the diverse physical and psychological needs of the shoppers, employees, residents and, motorists who use downtown after dark. Pedestrian lighting provides low scale, localized light where people need it most -on sidewalks and in parking lots and alleyways. This type of lighting can function to identify major points in the pedestrian circulation system such as intersections, crosswalks, steps, ramps and amenity areas. Attractive pedestrian 1ighting can also provide a unifying visual element downtown. Street lighting is the prevalent form of artificial illumination currently used downtown. Street lighting should be used to illuminate vehicular areas, but not made to function as pedestrian or amenity area lighting also. Accent and amenity lighting should also be considered a part of illuminating the downtown at night a delightful and attractive place. The creative use of outdoor lighting can be instrumental in promoting the nighttime use of downtown and will significantly improve the public's appreciation of the area after dark.

Guidelines:

  1. In General:

    a. Lighting standards and poles should be compatible in scale with the buildings, pedestrians and the rest of the street furniture.

    b. Light standards and poles which are used to support other items of street furniture should use attachment hardware which is compatible aesthetically with the standard.

    c. The number of signs and other attachments to light standards and poles should be kept to a minimum.

    d. All luminaries should provide true color rendition. All luminaries should incorporate reflectors and other devices to reduce glare and direct light.

    e. Incandescent, quartz iodine or fluorescent luminaries provide good color rendition. Avoid the use of luminaries that distort color rendition.

    f. General lighting should be provided for vehicular traffic with more intense and varied lighting provided for pedestrian and amenity areas.

    g. All electrical wiring and conduits should be concealed from view. Underground wiring is desirable when at all possible.

    h. Provide outlets on light standards and other poles as required to accommodate seasonal and special lighting.

    i. Street light standards should be no taller than the average height of buildings in the downtown area.

  2. Pedestrian Lighting:

    a. Special attention should be given to lighting areas of pedestrian/vehicular conflict, such as alleys, crosswalks and parking lots.

    b. Pedestrian light standards should be between 10 and 12 feet high, containing true color rendition luminaries and provide for an overlapping light pattern at least 7 feet above the sidewalk.

    c. Pedestrian light standards should be compatible throughout the downtown area.

  3. Accent, And Amenity Lighting:

    a. Accent and amenity lighting should be used to illuminate building facades, landscaped areas, sitting areas and trees.

    b. Accent and amenity lighting should give true color rendition.