United States Department of Transportation
i
Lighting and Vegetation for Energy-Efficient and Safe Roadway Travel
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2009-04-01
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[PDF-1.01 MB]
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Abstract:The objective of the present study was to identify and evaluate promising approaches to incorporating lighting and vegetation along roadways with the purpose of identifying the most promising application that could be incorporated into a demonstration project. The project team reviewed existing lighting, roadway delineation and vegetation practices in New York State and elsewhere to identify promising approaches combining these elements for roadway applications. Through a series of lighting simulations, the visibility of relevant objects along each of several roadway applications (roundabouts, curved exit ramps, and urban boulevards) were compared when they were illuminated using conventional roadway lighting without inclusion of vegetation as a visual element, and when they were designed with both lighting and vegetation as an integrated system. Economic analyses and energy use comparisons were also performed to identify the relative impact of the new lighting and vegetation approaches. Comparing the relative benefits of the proposed lighting and vegetation approaches for each roadway application, the roundabout application and the urban boulevard had the greatest estimated impact on safety, as characterized by the drivers' visual performance when detecting pedestrians and other potential hazards along the road. The roundabout application also had the greatest energy savings in terms of electricity use, and as a result, had the greatest reduction in operating costs. Based on the results of the analyses, the project team recommends that NYSERDA and NYSDOT consider implementing a demonstration project to integrate lighting and vegetation approaches to providing visual information at roundabouts. The report includes a work plan and schedule for conducting such a demonstration project.
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