5.1 Public Realm Design Guidelines

Lighting

Street lighting should be decorative as well as functional

The design of the public realm must be able to support after hours activity as well as providing safety and security. Lighting is an important influence on the character of city streets and spaces, as well as a basic security requirement during the hours of darkness. There is a need to reappraise the overall visual coherence of Sheffield city centre’s lighting and examine the opportunities to further enhance the quality of the environment after dark. Many of the recent improvements in street lighting have primarily been designed to meet road traffic specifications, yet many streets and spaces support a range of activities which could benefit from the introduction of a variety of supplementary forms of lighting. Action is required to:

• Enliven the whole of the centre in a visually coherent and interesting manner;
  
  
• Encourage creative thinking in the use of street, building and advertisement lighting within the city centre;
  
  
• Ensure that the city streets and spaces are sufficiently well lit to promote personal safety;
  
  
• Encourage the appropriate use of decorative and seasonal lighting;
  
  
• Employ lighting which is appropriate to predominantly pedestrian spaces;
  
  
• Promote policies to encourage well lit shopfront window displays.
  
  
• In all city centre streets and spaces, lighting must take account of the statutory requirements of the Roads Authority to provide levels of illumination required by trafficked streets and ensure safety and security:
  
  
  An effective lighting strategy can bring character and warmth to space in the hours of darkness
  
  
  
  
  
  • The ‘basic’ street illumination from standard facade mounted high-pressure sodium fittings should be supplemented by various forms of flood lighting, low-level and amenity lighting, together with the ambient light from shop fronts, signs and windows;
    
  • Lighting fixtures, fittings and columns should, wherever practicable, be incorporated into existing or proposed columns, street furniture and features to reduce the street clutter and the impact of columns in the streetscape and also to provide varying effects and further visual interest;
    
  • Where lighting columns are proposed, these should be designed to be in scale with their setting and relate to pedestrians;
    
  • Amenity light sources can contrast in colour with the standard street lighting source;
    
  • Fittings should seek to combine facilities such as coloured lights, uplighters and low-level beams;
    
  • Uplighters can be used to enhance features and low-level beams can be used to spread a wash at street level;
    
  • Light pollution should be avoided as much as possible.
    
    
• Consideration is to be given to amenity lighting to ensure that there is ample provision for any special events which may take place throughout the year. Activities such as festivals continue through the hours of darkness and require more illumination than that provided by regular street lighting. This is a further aspect of city centre management where coordinated efforts from the public authorities yields improvement.
  
  
• There is also a desire to have lighting which relates in scale to the pedestrian and which can be used to highlight features, floodlight buildings and generally create a strong and memorable atmosphere during the hours of darkness. For example within the Devonshire Quarter soft lighting would be required to enhance the restaurant culture developing in the area.

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