Euclid Corridor Streetscape

Above and below are images of recently installed streetlamps along the under-construction Euclid Corridor project (within the Quadrangle). While I applaud the attempt at placing contemporary fixtures along the Avenue, its unfortunate to see a design with fake-functional parts (note the "pivot" where the pole and fixture meet and the "counter-tension" that pretends to hold the lamp in place). The choice of lamp could have still been clean and contemporary without the unnecessary "mechanical" components.


Euclid Avenue, connecting research institutions, medical campuses, performing arts venues, and a planned "district of design" commands beautiful, contemporary, technologically-advanced street objects. In a rare opportunity to replace system-wide infrastructure and lighting, the first of Euclid's street objects I suspect, does not exhibit an advanced application - solar-powered lighting or adaptation of the SmartEnergy Spirals (or other alternative energies) to power the streetlights, electronic communicating ballasts (to dim lamps intelligently for significant electricity savings), leveraging the new infrastructure to monitor environmental data (temperature, humidity, air pollution, noise sensors along the street), or showcasing an alternative to the orange-yellow high pressure sodium lamps.


Fortunately, the system-wide update of the street infrastructure may provide the capacity for showcasing technology on the street in the near future, since it appears the Euclid Corridor streetscape project is primarily focusing on overcoming cosmetic inconsistencies and obsolescence.