A P P E N D I X A

Street Lighting Design Guide

Revised June 22, 2021

June 2021
June 2021
 I. GENERAL

The street lighting system should be a complete, unified design that addresses the various mobility needs
within the City of Bellevue. Lighting levels should be appropriate for street function, classification, and
pedestrian use. The lighting system should also have a pleasing appearance and complement surrounding
features.

It is not practical, economically feasible, nor desirable to complete the illumination system for the entire
City at one time. Development and road construction projects are constantly changing city streets. When
consistent design criteria are applied to each project, an effective and functional overall lighting system
can be established over time.

The City must maintain a consistent style, operational mode, and maintenance program in order to keep
the overall lighting system manageable. This Street Lighting Design Guide has been prepared to assist the
city, developers, and anyone involved in improvements to accomplish this objective.

II. PROCEDURES

The following is a summary of the procedures for obtaining approval of street lighting designs within the
City.

A. Refer to the Transportation Development Review Engineer or assigned Traffic Engineering

Reviewer (herein referred to as “Review Engineer”) who is assigned to review the proposed
project to obtain site specific guidelines. They will provide requirements on if the system is to be
City owned (typical) or if it can be allowed on existing PSE infrastructure (requires Review
Engineer Approval). The review staff will also provide guidelines on the pole, fixture, and arm
based on the location of the project.

B. Submit the following:

1. Plans
2. Specifications
3. AGi32 Calculation File

Development projects shall submit through the Permit Center or mybuildingpermit.com. Capital
projects shall submit through the City’s project manager.

Proposed deviations to standard should be discussed and agreed upon with the Review Engineer
prior to submittal and documented in a submittal letter. The submittal will be reviewed and
comments will be returned to the applicant.

C. Incorporate any review comments and re-submit as noted in Step B above.

D. After the Review Engineer verifies that all comments have been addressed and standards met, the
plans and specifications will be approved, and permits issued. All work must be done by a

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 qualified electrical contractor with experience in outside electrical work. Call for City inspections
prior to starting work, as noted on the right-of-way use permit.

E. Call for final Transportation inspection and acceptance. Street lighting is required to be
completed prior to issuance of a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy or the Certificate of
Occupancy; street lighting cannot be bonded for.

F. When the improvements have been completed, inspected, and accepted, update the plans with all
as-built information and provide them to the Review Engineer.

III. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Plans

The preferred scale is 1" = 20’, provided on 24” x 36” sheets.

These plans must show any adjacent existing luminaires, the new luminaires, their stations,
installation details, existing and proposed street trees, building awnings, overhangs, details of the
service cabinet or connections to existing service cabinet, conduit locations, junction boxes,
above and underground utilities, wire notes including a connection to Puget Sound Energy, and
any additional information necessary to complete the electrical system.

Final plans must be signed and sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the state of
Washington.

B. Specifications

The City of Bellevue uses the Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge, and Municipal
Construction as published by the Washington State Department of Transportation and modified
by the City of Bellevue Special Provisions.

C. Supporting Calculations

Street lighting is to be designed using the illuminance method for calculations prepared with
AGi32 software. Digital design files from AGi32 are to be provided to the City, along with line
loss calculations for the system.

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 IV. DESIGN PARAMETERS

Where street frontage improvements are required, new facilities shall be built to the current street light
standards. If there is an existing street light system, the portion of system required to meet the
photometric design values along the frontage shall be brought into compliance with the current street light
standards.

The Review Engineer may approve deviations from the standards and requirements of this design guide
based upon meeting sound engineering judgement, maintenance interests, appearance interests, and if it is
in the public interest.

A. Poles

Street lighting is required to be installed on City owned facilities. Any new street light pole
required shall be a City of Bellevue Roadway Lighting Pole (Standard Drawing SL-100-2).
Existing City owned poles may be reused if photometric design values can be met and with
Review Engineer approval. Existing street lighting on PSE poles may need to be removed and
City owned facilities installed.

The Review Engineer may approve a deviation to allow new and existing street lighting to be
installed and remain on PSE owned utility poles.

New Roadway Lighting Poles (per Standard Drawing SL-100-2) shall be designed to support a
future load of Small Wireless Facility (SWF) equipment and antennas and a future city sign load
as outlined in the Table 1 below:

TABLE 1: SMALL WIRELESS FACILITY EQUIPMENT

Item Centroid Height Weight Wind Load

Pole Top Shroud and Antennas 37’6” 100lbs 218.6lbs
Equipment Cabinet 22’ 200lbs 173.1lbs
5G Antennas/Radios 26’6” 87lbs 180.7lbs
Disconnect 20’ 30lbs 32.1lbs
Sign 10’ 66lbs 450lbs

The total loads at the base of a 35’ tall pole with 12’ luminaire arm cannot exceed the following:
• Bending Moment: 41,816 ft-lb
• Torsion: 2,330 ft-lb
• Shear: 1,814 lb
• Axial Force: 1,798 lb

B. Fixture

Light-Emitting Diode (LED) street lighting fixture are required for new and retrofit installation.
The wattage of the fixture will be recommended by the applicant’s engineer based on the street

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 light analysis. In no case shall the system be design higher than 20% above the minimum average
values.

Retrofit installations may require an adapter plate. Contact the Review Engineer for specific type
of adapter plate required and include appropriate details in final plans.

Fixture color will typically match color of the pole. Confirm fixture colors with the Review
Engineer prior to submittal.

C. Arm

For new pole installations: See Standard Drawing SL-102-1.

For retrofit installations: The arm length shall be recommended by the applicant’s design
engineer based on the street light analysis and on maintaining consistency along the public road.

D. Typical Design Parameters

There are several streets and neighborhoods that require special decorative lighting in addition to
the standard street lighting systems. Several of these locations are defined in Table 2:

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 TABLE 2: APPROVED FIXTURES AND USAGE
Location Design Parameters
Street Scale: New Pole Installation
Pole: Roadway Lighting Pole (SL-100-2)
Fixture: Leotek GreenCobra Series LED
Downtown (except Old Bellevue)
Street Scale: Retrofit
Fixture: Kim CCS LED fixture
Street Scale: New Pole Installation
Pole: Roadway Lighting Pole (SL-100-2)
Fixture: Leotek GreenCobra Series LED
Old Bellevue (except Main Street)
Pedestrian Scale
Pole: Round concrete pole
Fixture: Cyclone post-top LED

Pole: Round concrete pole

Main Street in Old Bellevue
Fixture: Cyclone post-top LED

Street Scale: New Pole Installation:

Pole: Roadway Lighting Pole (SL-100-2)
Fixture: Leotek GreenCobra Series LED
Major, Collector, Tertiary Arterials
Outside Downtown
Street Scale: Retrofit
Fixture: Leotek GreenCobra Series LED
Leotek Arieta Series LED
See Design Manual Appendix B: The BelRed Corridor
BelRed Subarea Arterials
Plan
Pole: Roadway Lighting Pole (SL-100-2)
Local Streets Fixture: Leotek GreenCobra Series LED
Leotek Arieta Series LED
Multi-family, Commercial, Light
May be designed to the Tertiary Light Level.
Industrial, School, or other
Verify with the Review Engineer prior to Design.
institutional areas or streets

The above approved fixtures and usage is for typical cases although there may be site specific
deviations. Check with Review Engineer for confirmation prior to design.

E. Midblock Crosswalks

For street light installations at new or existing midblock crosswalks, two streetlights (one on each
side of the crosswalk) is required. The preference is for each streetlight to be placed in advance of
the crosswalk with respect to the direction of vehicular travel. The Review Engineer may approve
a deviation for a single streetlight installation.

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 F. Temporary Lighting

Temporary lighting shall be installed under the following circumstances:

• Any time a street light is going to be removed for more than 30 days.
• When more than one street light on the same block or within 400-feet of the subject street
light (either side of the street) is impacted by construction.
• When the impacted street light is located within 50-feet of a crosswalk or intersection.
• As directed by the Review Engineer.

G. Additional Design Parameters

The designer should contact the project owner to verify final building layout and the location of
windows that could be affected by the location of the required street light poles and luminaires.
Consideration should be given to windows when locating poles and deciding on pole heights to
minimize impacts to adjacent buildings. If light poles are proposed near windows, house-side
shields should be utilized and reflected in the design calculations.

The design of the street lighting system shall be such that no street trees are placed within 25-feet
of a new street light.

See Design Manual Appendix D – Fiber Optic Communication Systems Design Requirements for
information on space conduits and junction boxes that shall be included with all projects requiring
frontage improvements.

V. PHOTOMETRIC DESIGN VALUES

A. Lighting Levels

1. Arterial Streets

Bellevue’s Transportation Department organizes streets into three classifications for arterial
street light levels - Major, Collector, and Tertiary. These classifications are shown on Figure 1
with associated design parameters in Table 3.

For tertiary, Table 3 shows two values for uniformity. Lower uniformity should be provided
for completely new city owned systems, whereas retrofit projects (where existing light poles
are being utilized) or projects using existing PSE poles (with Review Engineer approval) may
be designed to the higher uniformity value.

2. Local Streets

Streets not classified as Major, Collector, or Tertiary (see Figure 1) are considered local
streets. No specific photometric design values have been established for local streets. For new

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 plats or newly developed local streets, city-owned systems are preferred and luminaires shall
be installed as follows:
• at intersections
• at horizontal curves
• at vertical curves
• at street ends
• at marked pedestrian crossings
• at traffic calming devices
• and at no greater than 250 foot intervals

3. Sidewalks and Paths

For sidewalks adjacent to the roadway, whether curbside or separated by a planter strip, no
separate calculations are conducted for light levels on the sidewalk area. This is the standard
practice, in recognition that the sidewalk will be illuminated by the lighting system installed
for the roadway and adjoining properties.

For Multipurpose Paths (MPPs) installed in lieu of or in addition to sidewalks and bike lanes,
lighting is typically required with a minimum maintained average light level of 5 lux and a
uniformity ratio of 10:1. Verify requirements for MPPs with the Review Engineer prior to
starting design.

4. Calculation Values

A maintenance factor of 0.80 is to be used for all LED systems.

B. PSE Modification

PSE Modification to design may apply on tertiary or collector arterials that:

1) Serve a residential area with a significant amount of single family residential driveways, and
2) Have above‐ground electrical distribution on PSE poles that will remain above‐ground after
the project is complete.

Verify PSE Modification lighting design with the Review Engineer prior to proceeding with the
design. For PSE Modification designs, the lighting design is typically limited to the PSE pole
locations. Designs should meet the average light levels shown in Table 3 only to the extent
practical, as the pole spacing and mounting heights may preclude the ability to reasonably meet
minimum average light levels. Uniformity is not considered in PSE Modification designs. In‐fill
poles (new poles with lights only) are only required when necessary to meet the average light
level at a marked midblock pedestrian crossing or an uncontrolled marked crosswalk at an
intersection.

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 TABLE 3: ILLUMINANCE METHOD PHOTOMETRIC DESIGN VALUES

ROADWAY SEGMENTS
LIGHT LEVEL
CLASSIFICATION MINIMUM MAINTAINED UNIFORMITY
AVERAGE VALUES* (LUX) RATIO EAVG/EMIN
ASPHALT PORTLAND
CONCRETE CEMENT
CONCRETE

MAJOR 13 9 4

COLLECTOR 9 6 4
4 (New Systems)
TERTIARY 5 4
6 (Retrofits)

INTERSECTIONS
LIGHT LEVEL
CLASSIFICATION MINIMUM MAINTAINED UNIFORMITY
AVERAGE VALUES* (LUX) RATIO EAVG/EMIN
ASPHALT PORTLAND
CONCRETE CEMENT
CONCRETE

MAJOR – MAJOR 26 18 4
MAJOR – COLLECTOR 22 15 4

MAJOR – TERTIARY 18 13 4

COLLECTOR – COLLECTOR 18 12 4

COLLECTOR – TERTIARY 14 10 4
4 (New Systems)
TERTIARY - TERTIARY 10 8
6 (Retrofits)

MARKED MIDBLOCK PEDESTRIAN CROSSING**

LIGHT LEVEL
CLASSIFICATION MINIMUM MAINTAINED UNIFORMITY
AVERAGE VALUES* (LUX) RATIO EAVG/EMIN
ASPHALT PORTLAND
CONCRETE CEMENT
CONCRETE

MAJOR 26 18 N/A
COLLECTOR 18 12 N/A

TERTIARY 10 8 N/A

* Systems should be designed no higher than 20% above minimum average values
**Includes uncontrolled marked crosswalks at intersections

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