Campus Lighting Program

1. Campus Lighting Program Prepared by: Curt Speaker Safety Council November 17, 2004

2. Philosophy • To ensure that major pedestrian walkways on campus are safe by: • Illuminating walkways from parking lots or residence halls to campus buildings and from campus to town • Maintain lighting fixtures (keep the lights on) • Keep vegetation trimmed back to reduce dark areas and “shadowing”

3. Philosophy • To illuminate so that individuals can “see” what is approaching them so that they have time to decide whether they want to take a different direction or go somewhere else

4. Program Goals • To keep lights on during evening hours • To have a process in place to ensure that this is done • To identify and correct areas needing lighting enhancements • To respond to the need for repairs promptly

5. Lighting and Crime • Lighting is not a deterrent to crime • Crime occurs during daylight hours • A San Antonio school district reduced its annual cost of repairing damage caused by vandalism from $160,000 to $41,000 in a few years simply by turning off the lights on the school grounds • Rationale: criminals need to see what they are doing; no lights ≈ no crime

6. History • PSU lighting program has existed for over 13 years • EHS has been the lead unit • Other units involved: OPP, University Police, Student Affairs, Housing, Undergraduate Student Government, University Safety Council

7. History • ~20 new fixtures are installed each year • Additional fixtures also added as part of new construction projects • Central Administration provides $100,000 per year to make upgrades and enhancements

8. Major Program Components • Semi-annual (spring & fall) night surveys of major pedestrian walkways and areas of concern • Employees report areas where they feel lighting is inadequate or in need of enhancement • Areas are inspected • Walk major pedestrian paths to verify lighting • Results are reported back to employees who raised initial question

9. Major Program Components • Integration of lighting into new construction projects • Ongoing identification and reporting of lights out through University Police, OPP, EHS and Residence Hall security units • Anyone can contact the OPP Work Control Center (865-4731) and report lights out • Janitors get quarterly work assignments to check building lights and fix them

10. Major Program Components • Prompt response to repairs by OPP and Housing • A series of lights out is repaired a.s.a.p. • Repair/replace single lights within 24 hours • Set up temporary lighting in construction areas • Examples: SALA, Peace Garden, East Deck

11. Related Programs • Escort Service • Provides walking accompaniment for faculty, staff and students who feel unsafe walking alone on campus at night • Operates from dusk to dawn, 365 days a year • Usage trend is downward over the past 10 years, even after assaults • 2001/2002 – 1100 requests • 2002/2003 – 800 requests • 865 - WALK

12. Commonly Used Fixtures on Campus

13. Standard Walkway Fixture • This is the standard walkway light fixture used throughout campus • Relatively inexpensive, durable • Has proven record of service on campus

14. Standard Walkway Fixture • The fixture can be mounted on different types of poles to better blend in with its surroundings • Metal • Stone

15. Shoebox Fixture • The shoebox fixture became the standard walkway, roadway, and in some cases, parking lot light used on campus • Useful when directional (down) lighting is needed, such as near residence halls

16. The New Kipp Fixture • This fixture has become the new standard and will be used throughout campus as a walkway light • Good light dispersion; very easy to service • Very durable (polycarbonate)

17. The Cobra Head Fixture • The cobra head fixture is usually used as a roadway light, although it has been used in some parking lots • More glare than other fixtures • Does not meet new lighting ordinance • Used extensively in the Borough

18. The Wallpack Fixture • Most often used at building entrances • Also used when illumination is needed near the side of a building or a wall • Act as a supplement to walkway lighting

19. Identification • Every walkway, roadway and parking lot light is identified by a series of numbers and letters • Lights on buildings often identified with a number • It is important to note these, as well as the general location, when reporting lights out to OPP

20. No light on campus is designed to do this!!!

21. Lighting and Color

22. Lighting and Color • The way that we perceive color is based on the wavelength (color) of the light shining on a surface • Some types of light bulbs will distort or change the perceived color • White light is the preferred choice…however…it is not always possible or practical

23. Common Light Bulbs and Coloration • Incandescent bulbs provide yellowish light • Fluorescent bulbs generally provide white light, but there is a significant blue component • High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulbs provide a reddish light • Metal Halide (MH) bulbs provide the whitest light possible

24. Other Considerations • HPS bulbs have been the standard used throughout campus for many years • Advantages: • Long Bulb Life • Lower Operating Cost • Disadvantages • Light is perceived as reddish • Does not provide true color rendering • Watt for Watt, is not perceived as bright as MH

25. Other Considerations • MH bulbs are becoming the new standard on campus • Advantages: • Watt for Watt, perceived as brighter than HPS • Truer color rendering • Disadvantages • Shorter bulb life (~50%) • More expensive to operate than HPS

26. Campus Lighting Program Recent Lighting Enhancements

27. Recent and Planned Lighting Enhancements August 2004 Recent Installations Projects Underway and Planned Park Ave. University Dr. College Ave.

28. New Challenges and Issues in Lighting

29. College Township Lighting Ordinance – May 2004 • Sets requirements for new lighting projects • Establishes criteria for acceptable lighting • Maximum pole height set at 25 feet • Sets minimum illumination level of 0.5 foot-candles for sidewalks remote from roadways • Established maximum light concentration levels (in lumens/acre) and uniformity ratios • Establishes curfews for light trespass (light coming from campus that falls off campus)

30. College Township Lighting Ordinance – May 2004 • Also requires that no more than 5% of total light from a fixture be reflected above the horizontal • Aimed at decreasing “light pollution” in the night sky & preserving “dark sky” • Most older fixtures used by the University (except Cobra Head fixture) meet this requirement • New fixtures satisfy this requirement

31. Cut Off Fixture

32. Lighting Web Page • Launched in August 2004 • Provides faculty, staff & students information on the lighting program, phone numbers and email addresses to report lights out, a map of recent lighting enhancements, and an FAQ • Will be updated annually • URL: http://www.ehs.psu.edu/lighting.html

33. Lighting Continuity • The newest challenge to the program is to create long stretches of walkway with white lights • Priority will be given to the most heavily used pedestrian walkways • Some of these have already been completed • Walkway from Pollock Road north to Curtain Road past Boucke, Fenske, Ferguson • Pollock Road west from Shortlidge Road to Burrowes Road

34. The End Questions?