Light in the Streets (Portal of Prague)

Long gone are the days when public lighting was just about the basics of night-time security. All cities, especially the major ones, are continually improving technical standards to make lights not only brighter but also more reliable and, last but not least, more aesthetically pleasing. There are more than 125 thousand electric lights in Prague, gas lanterns and lamp-posts are in a significant minority as there are only about three hundred of those. They provide a kind of magical gate to the past for city centre visitors and so they justifiably receive much more attention.

Public lighting has become so commonplace that we tend to take it for granted, only noticing it when we lose it. This happens the moment a lamp in front of our house breaks as we vainly fumble in our bag for keys, or in the middle of the night as we hurry through a dark part of a park. Luckily enough, such unpleasant incidents occur less and less. According to statistics, the reliability of Prague streetlights is more then 99 percent.

As the term “public lighting” suggests, it denotes a service that is beneficial to the public and is provided by local government, or by administrators of road networks. To be more precise, lamps belong to the public institutions mentioned above, but they are maintained by a managerial company. In Prague, however, a slightly different situation exists. Since 1999 the company ELTODO-CITELUM has been responsible for the operation and maintenance of not only public and ceremonial lighting but also clock towers in Prague. This company is responsible for the maintenance, administration and replacement of lighting. By 2013 the whole of Prague's lighting system will have undergone restoration.

Unfortunately the whole business is a bit more complicated as it is not just about the number and quality of streetlights and about their maintenance. Increasingly, discussion is focusing on the type of lighting and justification of its location, mainly in connection with the term 'light smog'. The first people to complain were astronomers, as strong light prevents them from observing the stars. Biologists have warned that the omnipresent streetlights kill whole populations of insects; they are lured to the light and then either toasted on the lamp or die of fatigue due to endlessly flying around.

Also doctors warn of 'light smog' and its contributing effect on increasing sleep deprivation disorder. For example, typical types of incorrect lighting are the commonly used spherical lamps, or old lamps with convex glass. The best designs are new lamps with a flat horizontal glass that illuminates only what is beneath it.

Light in the Streets

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