Warsaw pedestrian crossings
New energy-efficient pedestrian crossing lighting improves safety across the city
Poland has one of the highest rates of pedestrian fatalities in Europe; 27% of all road accident fatalities are pedestrians, with speeding the main cause1. With these figures in mind, the Municipal Roads Authority (ZDM) for the city of Warsaw launched a Road Safety Audit in 2016 to identify strategies and recommendations for urgent and long-term improvements.
The audit showed that the risk of an accident increased by 30% at night, especially in built-up areas where there is a higher traffic density. This was, in part, attributed to a lack of clear visibility of pedestrians, especially when they are crossing a road on a pedestrian crossing.
The ZDM launched a plan to upgrade the lighting on the pedestrian crossings in 12 of the city’s districts by 2019 to improve safety and comfort on the capital’s roads.
Pedestrian crossing lighting to improve visibility and safety
Advances in lighting technology meant that the city could upgrade the old fixtures fitted with sodium vapour lamps to state-of-the-art LED luminaires without increasing their energy consumption.
The city chose the TECEO and IZYLUM luminaires to light the pedestrian crossings. Installed on 6m-high poles, they are fitted with dedicated optics that deliver the necessary vertical and horizontal illuminance so motorists can:
- easily distinguish pedestrian crossings on roads;
- clearly see pedestrians crossing the road from a safe stopping distance and
- drive in complete comfort, with no glare.
The luminaires are fitted with cool white LEDs (5700K) that deliver a much brighter white light than the old fixtures so both drivers and pedestrians can clearly distinguish objects and their colours in the urban surroundings.
More efficient and sustainable infrastructure
Maintenance had been an issue that contributed to the deterioration of the previous luminaires. Thanks to the long life span of the LEDs and the robust design of the IZYLUM luminaires with a flat glass protector, the new lighting solution will require virtually no maintenance. This will improve operational efficiency as maintenance call-outs will be reduced significantly for staff.
It also means that the lighting will provide the correct lighting levels for optimal visibility and visual comfort for many years to come.
A safer nightscape
In total, we delivered 3,000 luminaires to upgrade the lighting on 1,600 pedestrian crossings throughout the city. A further 200 pedestrian crossings will be modernised in 2022. The new lighting has created a safer, more comfortable and accessible night-time environment for pedestrians at night, especially in the zones considered high risk with schools, hospitals, and a large population of elderly people.
The number of pedestrian road fatalities has also decreased in the city. Indeed, such is the success of the project, the city of Warsaw is one of the 3 finalists for the 2022 EU Urban Road Safety Award that celebrates outstanding road safety measures. The jury praised its work to place “pedestrians front and centre with an ambitious Road Safety Audit”.