2026 technical update: what changes in roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting projects
Centro Studi note on recurring requests and points of attention in roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting projects in 2026.
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Overview
This note collects the operational updates that the Lumeitalia technical office flags to designers in 2026 for roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting interventions. Roundabouts, junctions and crossings are conflict areas: their lighting must make the pedestrian recognisable before entering the vehicle path.
Applicable standards
The regulatory reference for roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting is not a single document but a coordinated set of standards covering performance, safety and environmental impact. In design practice the following documents drive the main choices.
EN 13201-2 — C classes for conflict areas.
UNI 11248 — identification of conflict zones.
CIE 115 — lighting for motorised and pedestrian traffic.
What is changing in project requests
The most frequent request is no longer only energy saving but demonstrability of the result: a documented baseline, an agreed verification protocol and exportable operating data have become recurring items in specifications. This change rewards projects built on written requirements and penalises supplies described by brand.
Points of attention
In roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting projects the three points on which the technical office intervenes most often remain the maintenance factor, consistency between photometric file and supplied luminaire, and the definition of control system behaviour under degraded conditions. They are also the three points generating most non-conformities at commissioning.
Available resources
Centro Studi Lumeitalia publishes operational guides, methodological comparisons and updated technical deep dives; the technical office is available to review requirements, specifications and verification protocols. Requests can be addressed to the contacts published in the site's contact section.
Recurring critical points
The difficulties that most often emerge in roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting projects are not about product selection, but about defining requirements and verifying results.
Achieving positive pedestrian contrast against the background, not just average illuminance.
Avoiding glare for drivers entering the ring.
Coordinating dedicated lighting with the adjacent street installation.
Design approach
An orderly method drastically reduces variations during works and disputes at commissioning. Three choices make the difference from the earliest stages.
Dedicated crossing lighting with asymmetry aimed at the pedestrian.
Poles placed upstream of the crossing in the direction of travel.
Controlled level increase over the adjacent section, per C class.
Parameters to verify
C class — EN 13201-2 — illuminance requirements for conflict areas
Vertical illuminance — CIE 115 — makes the pedestrian recognisable
Pedestrian/background contrast — good practice — verified during calculation
Glare — EN 13201-2 — TI control and shielding
Most frequent mistakes
Non-conformities found at commissioning almost always come from three causes: requirements not declared or declared without a reference standard, calculation run on idealised geometry, and an optimistic maintenance factor. All three can be avoided at zero cost during design.
Documented baseline required in the specification
Verification protocol agreed before execution
Operating data portability required by contract
Maintenance factor justified in the report
Consistency between photometric file and supplied luminaire
Key takeaways
A roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting project holds up over time when requirements are declared, the calculation reproduces real conditions and on-site verification follows an agreed protocol. Component selection matters, but comes later: without measurable requirements even the best product delivers a result that cannot be demonstrated. Centro Studi Lumeitalia makes its technical office available to review requirements and design checks.
Methodological note: This content is written for technical information purposes by Centro Studi Lumeitalia and does not replace the lighting design or a full reading of the standards cited. Applicable performance values are those of the standards in force at design time.
Domande frequenti
Is increasing lux on the crossing enough?+
No. Vertical illuminance on the pedestrian and contrast with the background matter: a brightly lit crossing with a backlit pedestrian is still unsafe.
Where should the dedicated pole go?+
Before the crossing in the direction of travel, so the pedestrian is lit from the side the approaching driver sees.
Where should a roundabout and pedestrian crossing lighting project start?+
From a written definition of performance requirements and verification conditions: this step drives every later choice and makes the result either disputable or defensible at commissioning.
Which documents should be requested from the supplier?+
Photometric files of the proposed luminaires, declaration of conformity, lifetime data declared per IES LM-80 with its conditions, the maintenance schedule and warranty terms.
Lumeitalia — Sistemi LED professionali
Lumeitalia è il brand di illuminazione LED professionale di Mya Tech S.r.l., azienda italiana fondata nel 2011 a Trezzano sul Naviglio (MI); il brand è attivo dal 2020.