Expert: The new lighting lamps in the center of Olomouc have not improved much

Olomouc - The new Philips UrbanStar lamps have only slightly improved the lighting of the historical center of Olomouc. This follows from the measurement results commissioned by Prague architect Jan Šépka, a co-author of the reconstruction of the Upper Square. The city hall hastily installed the new lamps in the Upper Square last September. The city justified the replacement of the lamps with better brightness. Šépka disagrees and is now demanding in court that the lighting of the center of Olomouc be returned to its original state.
    "I had the intensity of the existing UrbanStar lamps measured in the area of the Upper Square and compared it with measurements of Thorn lamps that took place in 2001. It was confirmed what the tabulated values of both lights indicated, namely that there was no difference. The condition of the lighting in the square has not changed," Šépka told ČTK today. According to him, the city has so far failed to justify the lamp replacement. City hall spokesperson Radka Štědrá told ČTK that due to the court dispute, the city would not comment on the measurement results for now.
    The intensity of the lighting provided by the new lamps was measured by the company Metrolux. "Since there was no increase in the number of lighting points compared to the original state, the space, despite a slight increase in brightness in some areas, feels the same. An increase in brightness by one lux is insignificant from the perspective of the human eye," is stated in the lighting measurement protocol for the Upper Square that was submitted to the court.
    Last year, Olomouc debated for several months on the best way to illuminate the Upper Square. After the square's reconstruction was completed in 2001, it turned out that the then-installed Thorn lamps did not provide enough light. The light fixtures were significantly worn out last year. Therefore, the city proposed in the spring to install UrbanStar lamps, which are located at the nearby Lower Square. This was not liked by conservationists or the authors of the Upper Square reconstruction, who advocated for the lamps proposed in the city center renovation project. Instead, the city obtained Thorn poles, which the authors of the square's renovation project agreed to.
    In July of last year, the court issued a preliminary injunction due to the dispute over the appearance of the lighting and prohibited the lamp replacement until the dispute was resolved. However, Šépka did not file a lawsuit within the deadline, allowing the city to change the lamps in September. Šépka claims that the installation of UrbanStar lamps violated the copyright on the city center renovation. He demands in court that the lighting of the Upper Square be restored to its original state and an apology.
    According to the architect, the originally proposed lamps are half the price of the UrbanStar fixtures and have twice the luminous flux. Šépka argues that it was not even necessary to install UrbanStar lamps in the Upper Square, as it was sufficient to repair the Thorn lamps.
    The city hall paid nine million CZK for 33 original Thorn lamps 13 years ago. The weak light in the square at the start of the trial operation in March 2001 blinded the security cameras for the guards. The city hall had to buy new cameras for 400,000 CZK at that time. Experts then measured the light intensity and confirmed that the lamps provided insufficient illumination.