A council has unveiled what could become the future of street lighting - a road surface which glows in the dark. Cambridge City Council has covered an historic city pathway with ultraviolet particles which turn blue when the sun sets, in what could be the future of street lighting.

The technology, called 'Starpath', absorbs light during the day before emitting the artificial glow in the evening.

It is thought technology could one day replace streetlamps as a cheaper and more energy efficient form of lighting.

The technology is currently being trialed at Christ's Pieces in Cambridge and now the council have revealed they could adopt the path elsewhere in the city.

Cllr Andrea Reiner, the executive councillor for public places, said: "This is an interesting idea that the surfacing company asked if the council would like to explore for a trial period.

"If we decided to put this to use on paths in the city, we would want to balance any safety benefit against the desire to preserve the historic nature of our open spaces."

The technology has been developed by Surrey-based firm Pro-Teq Surfacing. Luminous particles are spread on a standard path before being sprayed with a protective film to maintain their glow.

It is believed the firm could even adopt different colours in order to create a cycle lane when darkness sets in.

Hamish Scott, owner of Pro-Teq Surfacing, said: "Councils spend significant sums of money fully replacing existing pathways when the existing surfaces have reached the end of their practical life.

"Our product is cost effective, fast to apply and fast to set, is an anti-slip surface, while the client has a choice of size and colour of aggregate.

"Further, the surface is environmentally-friendly and aesthetically pleasing."

He added: "In this day and age, with the cost of power going up and power stations being turned off, some way down the track there has to be an alternative way.

"We hope this is a very nice, pleasant and effective way of doing this."

Sources:

1. Telegraph:
   LED Starpath.