The Municipality of Braga prepared a Public Lighting Master Plan. The document will be analyzed at the next meeting of the Municipal Executive, which will take place on Tuesday, April 2nd.
Considering the constant concern with improving public lighting conditions, both from the point of view of public safety and the creation of spaces suitable for social gatherings, cultural events and economic activities, and with regard to the maintenance, sustainability and technological innovation of points of light, this plan establishes guidelines for the management, modernization and expansion of this system, prioritizing sustainability and energy efficiency.
In this way, it is possible to better rationalize investment and maintenance costs and minimize environmental impacts, light pollution and energy consumption.
The Plan has a dynamic and integrated nature in urban planning projects, in order to monitor the planning of the territory, its growth and changes over time, guaranteeing the feasibility of carrying out interventions in the lighting network as necessary.
Assuming this commitment to keeping up with technological developments, the plan will be periodically updated to ensure the reduction of consumption and the continuous improvement of public lighting, always maintaining a balance between technical, economic, aesthetic and environmental aspects.
This document serves as a reference and support for new projects or interventions, promoting more pleasant and welcoming Public Lighting, while covering a variety of high quality and efficient models. To guide these projects, criteria and guidelines are established through the Public Lighting Project Criteria document, which aim to guarantee the safety, quality and comfort of illuminated public spaces throughout the municipal territory.
The Municipality has been replacing conventional lighting technologies with LED technology, currently covering around 42% of the Municipality’s lighting needs.
This more efficient technology reduces electricity consumption by approximately 60% and around 90% of the components that make up these luminaires can be reused. However, its use will only be more advantageous if it does not result in a worsening of the impacts of light pollution (white LEDs have a greater projection of light, simulating daytime, and can negatively affect the human cycle and biodiversity, the which requires extra care in its application and the chosen color temperature).
The document will be subject to public consultation for a period of 30 days.
