An Ergonomic Assessment of Lighting Conditions of the Pedestrian Overpasses in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City: Commuter’s Perception of Safety

Abstract

The pedestrian overpasses in Metro Manila, Philippines are often taken by commuters especially during rush hours to go to places. However, concerns about design, safety, and security of these overpasses are being raised. These problems become more prevalent at night because of the poor lighting conditions experienced in these overpasses. For these reasons, it was necessary to address the concerns of the pedestrians, to come up with an appropriate lighting standard, and to make design recommendations.

Adequate lighting in pedestrian facilities are important for they give a sense of safety and security to the people traversing them. Moreover, good visibility prevents accidents in these areas especially at night. The Philippines, particularly Metro Manila, is not the safest place to experience commuting for various crimes related to theft and robbery are not uncommon. Moreover, pedestrian facilities such as pedestrian overpasses are deemed to have poor lighting at night - making these places unsafe to the eyes of the commuters.

To address these issues, surveys regarding their perception and lighting preferences were gathered both online and on-site. The overpasses that were put into focus for the evaluation and data gathering for the on-site survey were three (3) of those in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. These overpasses are frequented by commuters for they are surrounded by different establishments and institutions such as hospitals, churches, malls, and universities. From the data gathered, the results showed that these overpasses did not have proper lighting causing the commuters to lack visibility, security, and confidence.

Within the parameters set by the researchers, a bulb with a luminous flux of 1,300 lx (measured 11 in. away from the light source) gave the best results in terms of security, visibility, and confidence. Moreover, even a relatively little increase in lighting intensity was acknowledged and felt by the commuters since these overpasses did not have any proper light source especially at the middle. Nonetheless, the need for lighting standardisation was addressed and possible steps for improvement of these vital facilities were recommended.