This short article describes the design and construction of the new street lighting installed during the major redevelopment of Broad Street as part of Birmingham City Council's plans for redevelopment of the city centre. The street is near the recently completed International Convention Centre in Birmingham, and the 'image' is that of a continental boulevard with on-street entertainment. At night, many of the neighbouring buildings are illuminated, and, during the day, the attractive post-modern design fits in well with their appearance. There is a high luminance standard of 2 cd/sqm. The lighting columns are made of continuously tapered tubular steel, and are 8.5m high to the base of the special arched double-arm bracket. Two 650mm polycarbonate spheres are suspended from the bracket, containing 250W SON-T lamps with louvres, to provide the required symmetrical light distribution and maximise the downward light output. Because of the large number of underground service cables and pipes, it was not possible to have a conventional root, and various root configurations had to be used. To minimise disruption, most of the installation was performed on Sundays.
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