Comber Greenway path is now lit

February 10, 2024

A popular walking and cycling path, the Comber greenway is a seven-mile-long traffic free route between Belfast and Comber. The route is used by pedestrians and cyclists for both commuting and leisure purposes. However, during the winter months and on dark evenings, the number of people using it was seen to decline. Here is how our lighting solutions helped increase footfall and make visitors feel safer on the path.

The Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland has implemented a project to upgrade and illuminate a section of the Comber Greenway, a popular traffic-free route between Belfast and Comber. It is one of the most used urban greenways in Northern Ireland, and meanders seven miles out into the countryside along mostly flat terrain – making it popular amongst people of all abilities. The purpose of the project was to illuminate the walkway to allow pedestrians and cyclists to use it during the evening hours, especially in the winter months. The project now provides a safer space for those who wish to walk, wheel, or cycle all year round. What makes the project unique is the challenge it came with - obtaining lighting that would serve the public safely and protect the environment, as the area is known as a bat feeding corridor. The Department for Infrastructure, working with Signify, decided to install luminaires that have a special light recipe limiting the night time disturbance of bats whilst providing a light source with a colour rendering index (Ra) > 60 to promote safety and security for users.

The design uses a special light recipe which has a high colour rendering, providing a safer feeling space for those who wish to walk, wheel or cycle all year round. The scheme has been designed with the local environment in mind. The design uses a light recipe which filters out the blue peak making the light source red in appearance. This spectrum has been proven to minimise the night time disturbance to bat colonies, while internal back louvres on the luminaires and lower mounting heights will minimise light spill into the hedgerows to shield wildlife and diminish light pollution into adjoining properties. 

The Department for Infrastructure working with Signify, who supplied LED lighting via their contractor M&P Bradley and promoted their Clearfield light recipe – this special light recipe has been proven to limit the night time disturbance of bats as the light source has no UV content and has removed most of the blue part of the spectrum. The spectral power is between 590nm and 790nm, giving the light source a red appearance with a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 1000K.

The project was installed by M&P Bradley early in 2023 and commissioned with Signify's CMS on 18th April 2023.

The project uses 233 Philips Digistreet Micro luminaires connected with Interact Cellular Node, which allows for remote monitoring and control of the lighting system that brings lighting together with data and the IoT so you can create spaces that adapt to your needs, making them more efficient, connected, and sustainable.

The project that is still in progress, will also see the installation of Multi Sensor radar detection installed in October. Multisensor is a Zhaga-D4i certified sensor connected to the luminaire via the Zhaga Book 18 socket and is the best choice for light on demand applications especially for cycling paths, as it has the capability to control a group of luminaires when motion is detected This allows the best use of light on demand by setting a low background level of illumination that can be increased when the radar is triggered by motion, providing a base level of illumination for the majority of the night to limit environmental impacts, whilst increasing the illumination level when required, providing a safer space for those who wish to walk, wheel or cycle all year round.

The project was designed with the local environment in mind, using a special light recipe of the Philips ClearField technology which filters out the blue peak making the light source red in appearance, to limit the night time disturbance of bats, while internal back louvres on the luminaires and lower mounting heights minimised light spill into the hedgerows to shield wildlife and diminish light pollution into adjoining properties. Research undertaken shows some species of bat are light adverse and the introduction of lighting can have a negative effect on their commuting and foraging behaviours...

Following consultation and engagement with residents, the new lights on the urban section of the greenway between Beersbridge Road and Billy Neill Halt have been programmed to operate during hours of darkness from dusk to 10.30pm and from 6.00am to dawn.

The introduction of a new red spectrum lighting scheme, the first of its kind on these islands, is showing to make travel throughout the whole year more feasible while also minimising light pollution and protecting the local environment and bat population along this corridor. The pilot will be reviewed by the Department after two years and will help form a decision on whether the scheme should be further extended along the rural section between Billy Neill Halt and Comber. But there is no doubt that the project is already proving to be a win-win for citizens and the nocturnal animals in the corridor.