As part of efforts to slash carbon emissions, cut down on light pollution, save money and make Cheshire East a cleaner and greener place to live – the Council is moving forward with changes to street lighting.
A new three-pronged approach is being introduced. All households will find themselves in one of the following categories:
- Switching off – lights will be permanently switched off, with a view to removal in the future. This will only be implemented on routes between towns with a small number of homes.
- Dimming – lights will operate at 60 per cent of their normal strength to achieve savings whilst still providing lighting. This will be used where routes pass through local communities or where safety issues mean it isn't suitable to switch lighting off.
- Part-night lighting – a process where lights automatically turn off at midnight and come back on between 5.30am-6.30am. This will mainly be used in housing estates.
The changes will be introduced over the next few weeks. The lights that will be turned off will mainly be on A or B roads between towns and villages.
Where there are a significant number of homes on a route then lights will remain switched on and may form part of the dimming or part-night exercises.
On stretches of road where the lights will be switched off, there will be clear signs warning people that the lights are not in use.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member in charge of environmental services, said: "These changes are just part of our ongoing drive to reduce our energy consumption across the Borough.
"I want to reassure residents that we will choose the most suitable approach for where they live.
"We have successfully trialled changes to street lighting in Wilmslow where 80 per cent of the local community was behind the scheme.
"There is absolutely no evidence that switching off street lights on stretches of roads has a detrimental effect on road safety and, in fact, has improved road safety in many areas. "
Cheshire East Highways has consulted with Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service regarding the proposals. Both organisations have made no adverse comments regarding the scheme. The Authority has also written to all town and parish councils to inform them on how the changes could affect their area.
Click here to find out how street lighting changes affect you.
Comments
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Click on "Drawing No.33 (PDF, 2,6MB)" and page 5 of the document is a map of Alderley Edge showing the area where the lights will be dimmed = along Alderley Road, London Road.
The lights will be switched off on a section of the A34 Wilmslow Bypass approaching Harden Park Roundabout.
There are also maps for the surrounding areas.
Light pollution I've never heard so much rubbish in all my life.Cheshire east should start sorting real problems
Total nonsense. The Council are jumping on the "Light Pollution" problem to save money.
What about road safety ?
It will take only one serious accident for all the cost-savings to be lost, once the Ambulance, Fire Service, Police, Council Authorities, etc, become involved and are called out to attend any serious accident !
What about homes being more easily targetted for burglaries when the lights are dimmed ?
It will need only one extra villian to carry out a burglary due to our darkened streets where they see an opportunity and all the cost-savings will be lost by extra Police investigations, etc.
Do these Councillors really live in our community ?
The ratio of accidents to reduced street lighting can be made to look low by trialling the scheme in relatively small/low traffic areas. Extending the scheme also extends the risks.
Would the council take FULL responsibility if it can be proven that reduced or nil street lighting was a factor or main cause of a road traffic accident? I fail to see how reduced lighting can IMPROVE road safety.
Further, switching street lighting off on housing estates is quite ridiculous IMHO - it increases the risk of burglary/mugging and reduces efficacy of home CCTV etc. I certainly wouldn't feel particularly comfortable walking home through the blackout zone.
Perhaps someone will enlighten me otherwise.
Trying to keep the place light up like daylight 24 is wholly pointless activity - particularly in the wee small hours when the lights are provided for 2 men and a dog.
And all this rubbish about road safety - it does not seem to have occurred to anyone here that there are thousands and thousands of miles of unlit roads in the UK already with no great safety problems.
So let's save some money and see more of our night sky, keep turning them off Rod.
There may be thousands and thousands of miles of unlit roads in the country, as the above commentator said, BUT in the built-up areas, we need lights at night for safety and security !
The stats show there is no reduction in road safety, perhaps because the lights of oncomimg cars even when still 'round the corner' can be seen in the dark, so lots of prior warning of oncoming traffic. With bright street lights, many don't even turn on headlights!
There is an easy answer here ;
If you want to see the "real" sky at night, go outside the urban areas without street lights ?
Otherwise, accept you live in a modern world where certain things have to be compromised and adjusted to accommodate a modern society , with such amenities as street lights, etc.
If you want to see the "real" sky, go and live in Australia or Africa where there is no modern-world polution.
In answer to other comments;
How many cars do you see, once dark, without headlights on ?
Maybe one or two per hundred, and that's probably because they've forgotten to turn them on.
Finally, how can turning street lights OFF increase road safety ?
A real night sky? Many in UK have never seen one as they live in light polluted areas. Google 'light pollution' and see just how bad it's got!
So it's win / win. We save money, it's ecologically sensible, and there's no impact on safety (maybe even the opposite).
On the subject of accidents I don't suppose you include the slip trip and fall,the increasingly uneven pavements around alderley will provide lots of this type of claim.As for road traffic accidents I am increasingly having to walk out into the road when passing Konak and Yara restaurants due to monstrosities outside them that shouldn't be there.
However due to cost cuts made by the council,being told how much has been saved by recycling and jobs not being done that should be.I will be looking forward to a significant reduction in council tax this year. Or has it already been wasted.
I am all for saving money and very much in favour of anything that will improve enjoyment of the night sky, but I do feel that there are real safety issues here.
That sums up the argument in my opinion .........
so why do people still insist on suggesting turning OFF street lights is a good idea ?
I, and others have only taken up the "extreme sport" of jogging in the dark since CE began the practice of turning the lights out / dimming them down.
I dont profess to be clever - so probably couldn't manage any other form of excercise that involved more than placing one foot in front of another at regular intervals!
Prestbury probably has enough private security firms employed in the area to see off the burglars.
"A new three-pronged approach is being introduced. All households will find themselves in one of the following categories:
■Switching off – lights will be permanently switched off, with a view to removal in the future. This will only be implemented on routes between towns with a small number of homes.
■Dimming – lights will operate at 60 per cent of their normal strength to achieve savings whilst still providing lighting. This will be used where routes pass through local communities or where safety issues mean it isn't suitable to switch lighting off.
■Part-night lighting – a process where lights automatically turn off at midnight and come back on between 5.30am-6.30am. This will mainly be used in housing estates."
I'm not sure what you are implying with the word 'challenged' although it's use does sound vaguely condescending.
I have read the article again, I'm not sure what aspect of it you believe to have been overlooked, or what point you are trying to make by cutting and pasting it in the first place.
http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/crime.html?7O#noreduction
In terms of the impact on the night sky - properly dark skies virtually do not exist in the vast majority of England now due to light pollution. Even in the Peak District, the sky glow from Manchester and Sheffield and the various towns surrounding the park prevent truly dark skies most of the time. Most of Cheshire is much brighter. After the switch off at midnight, it should be noticably improved. The Milky Way is a sight to behold if you can see it properly, which you can't currently from here.
In terms of cost, Cheshire East spends about £1.6 million per year lighting roads throughout the night, much of the time when no-one is using them in the small hours. I'm sure there are better things the council could be spending £1m on.
Heaven forbid anybody has a serious accident,how do you price life.
Street lighting provides 'pools' of light. The relatively dark bits in between are where accidents might happen or muggings or bugrlaries, as anyone there is pretty much invisible.
As someone said earlier, if you want to see the street lighting reduced, start with Manchester Airport or Handforth Dean, because they all have very good lighting facilities for car parks, walkways, etc, and why not ?
Cheshire East Council may be creating extra accidents, burglaries, etc, (allegedly) and are hanging onto their hair-brained schemes and theories to reduce street lighting, whilst other businesses and Councils involved with the public have the sense to know that good street / car park lighting is essential for public safety and security........... we wait and see !