Sometimes it seems like a conspiracy. One parking lot looks just like the next, and the next, and the next. Most lots are just wastelands full of stripes, punctuated by dime-a-dozen metal light poles, topped with bulb-in-a-shoebox luminaires.

As Landscape Architects, we tend to notice these eyesores more than most people. And we regret their commonness more than most. But we are also able to inject a degree of attractiveness into parking lot lighting through our professional role.

Until a few years go, just about all of the choice we had was found in the kind of lighting we now see too much of. Today, we have many kinds of light poles to choose from, scores of luminaires and, when mixed with a distinctive planting design, we can achieve that most elusive of all goals?EUR??,,????'??+an attractive parking lot.

That feeling is echoed by Lighting Designer John Lomeli of Tustin, California. ?EUR??,,????'??Frequently, the Landscape Architect appears at the site with a planting scheme, and it often doesn?EUR??,,????'???t concur with the Electrical Engineer?EUR??,,????'???s lighting plot.?EUR??,,????'?? So the client either pays for a lot of extra installation work, or tells one of the designers to make wholesale revisions.

Lomeli predicts that High Pressure Sodium lighting?EUR??,,????'??+long the bane of aesthetic-minded designers due to its orange color?EUR??,,????'??+will grow in popularity in the next decade. In Europe, lighting specialists are using a new type of ?EUR??,,????'??H.P.S.?EUR??,,????'?? which yields a truer color rendition, and doesn?EUR??,,????'???t make plants look black. Unfortunately it?EUR??,,????'???s only available in low wattages at present?EUR??,,????'??+two low for efficient parking lot lighting.

It?EUR??,,????'???s wise to fully understand the photometric curve.

Other popular kinds of light are Mercury Vapor (with its bluish cast) and Metal Halide (which gives off a nice, white light but is, predictably, the most expensive). Burn time?EUR??,,????'??+the length of time that a light works?EUR??,,????'??+should also be a factor in your lighting design. The extra maintenance involved, and its cost, is something your client should be aware of. In normal cases, High Pressure Sodium burns longest, followed by Mercury Vapor and Metal Halide.

Larry Routh feels that the trend in parking lot lighting is away from ?EUR??,,????'??prison yard?EUR??,,????'?? floodlighting, to more human scale lighting with shorter poles, coordinated with more mature plantings to minimize shadows. John Lomeli agrees that high-mast lighting (extra-tall poles; topped with several strong luminaires) is passe. Fifteen- to 20-foot pole heights are less intrusive in a parking lot, even though there may be more of them. This also gives the designer the opportunity to ?EUR??,,????'??zone?EUR??,,????'?? the lighting ?EUR??,,????'??? for instance, keeping the light intensity low when a lot?EUR??,,????'???s not in use, while bathing the main entrance in light.

Some of this is best left to the Electrical Engineer or Lighting Consultant unless you, the Landscape Architect, tare especially knowledgeable. Be careful, however, that the final Lighting Plan coordinates with, and compliments, your planting design, the grading plan, circulation plan, irrigation plan, drainage plan and how it conforms to any municipal regulations.

Most municipalities insist that light poles be able to take a specific wind load. An average load is 97 mph ?EUR??,,????'??? the highest (in the Florida Keys) is 120 mph. All types of poles can be built to conform to any realistic wind load, but Lomeli recommends metal poles (steel or aluminum) as being the most reliable.

On the other hand, Rick Baxter of J.H. Baxter Co. Relates that woodpoles have a life span of 20-30 years, depending on conditions at the site. Wood poles should be laminated and pressure-treated with a light oil. ?EUR??,,????'??Especially for rural and suburban settings,?EUR??,,????'?? Baxter points out, ?EUR??,,????'??they have plenty of rustic character.?EUR??,,????'?? In some cases the costs of wood poles are comparable to that of metal poles. Durability, if the poles are properly maintained, can be equivalent to that of metal poles.

Ornate decorative poles are another option in many instances a special appearance is sought and ornate poles fare complimentary to the landscape s surrounding the parking lot. Ornate decorative lighting was originally designed for park settings, but with more and more innovation in landscape architecture these types of poles are frequently used, according to Marvin Whittlin of Sentry Electric in New York.

In short, parking lots don?EUR??,,????'???t have to have unattractive lighting ?EUR??,,????'??? many just end up that way out of habit. So the next time you have a parking lot to design, surround yourself with catalogs from lighting manufacturers and seek out s solid technical advice. Then, after you?EUR??,,????'???ve gotten over the amazement of all your choices, try your hand at doing something special?EUR??,,????'??+something that won?EUR??,,????'???t look dime-a-dozen a decade or so from now.