What is part-night lighting?
Part-night lighting is when a street light is switched off for
part of the night.
How will this operate?
Part-night photocells will be fitted to individual streetlights
and operate by calculating midnight as the “middle of the night”-
the mid point between sunset and sunrise. During winter (GMT) the
“middle of the night” is midnight. The photocells will then switch
off at midnight and come back on a set number of hours after
(midnight off and 5am on) with timings being factory set, so cannot
be changed once installed.
The use of daylight to determine the time of day is subject to
an annual rhythm that naturally leads to a ±15 minute variation in
timing throughout the year.
As well as the natural variance, the photocells do not account
for the change to British Summer Time (BST). Therefore, when the
clocks change to BST in March, the photocell timings will remain at
GMT resulting in the street lights switching off an hour later
(1:00am ±15 minutes). The timings will return to the original
settings when the clocks go back to GMT in October.
Why can’t you just dim lights instead of turning some of
them off?
Not all lights can be dimmed as the equipment used to dim lights
is expensive. When we replace street lighting columns new
lights are installed with the facility for dimming or part-night
operation. We currently have more than 2,000 street
lights dimming at 50% between the hours of 8pm and 6am.
How many lights will be affected?
It is difficult to say at this initial stage because we still
have work to do to decide which lights will be included at each
site. But, we estimate that up to 18,000 (80% of the lights in
North Somerset) could be converted to part-night or dimming.
Which areas will be started first?
Phase 1, mainly on rural routes, was completed in June 2011. It
is planned to roll-out phase 2 throughout North
Somerset by the end of 2011, once the selected areas have been
risk assessed and safety audited. Phase 3 will follow in
2012/13.
Can you legally turn off the lights?
Yes. There is no statutory requirement on local authorities in the
UK to provide public lighting, the law states that:
- The Highways Act empowers local authorities to light roads but
does not place a duty to do so
- We have a duty of care to road users and an
obligation to light obstructions on the highway
- We have a duty to ensure the safety of the highway,
and this includes any lighting equipment
- The Electricity at Work Regulations impose a duty on owners and
operators of electrical equipment to ensure its safety
Will you turn all the lights off at night?
No, we will have exception areas where lighting may remain lit.
These are:
- Traffic signal junctions, pedestrian crossings, subways, at
risk roundabouts and junctions identified by night time personal
injury and accidents
- Parts of town centres that have concentrated night time
activity or economy
- Footpaths, alleyways, public rights of way and walkways in open
space areas (following consultation with the police)
- Potential hazards on the highway such as traffic calming and
speed humps (following safety audit assessment)
- Locations with an above average road traffic night time injury
accident record
- Areas with a high record of crime or where incidents of hate
crime are a particular problem (following consultation with the
police)
- Areas with CCTV or local authority/police surveillance
equipment
- Areas with sheltered housing and other residences accommodating
vulnerable people (following assessment)
- Entrance and exit points to 24-hour operational emergency
services sites, such as hospitals, police, ambulance and fire
stations (following safety assessment)
- Areas where street lighting has already been upgraded and
operating dimming technology at 50% between the hours of 8pm
and 6am.
Will a safety review be carried out on the roads
affected?
Yes, all roads will have had a review carried out by our road
safety team which is part of the risk assessment process before any
lights are switched off. Any concerns raised from the review will
be considered and a decision will be made as to whether the lights
will be included in the changes.
If a street light is switched off, won’t the roads
become dangerous?
Street lights at traffic signal junctions, pedestrian crossings,
subways, at risk roundabouts and junctions identified by night time
personal injury and accidents will not be selected for switching
off.
Won’t this increase crime and traffic
accidents?
The evidence from our trials shows that levels of
crime and numbers of traffic accidents do not increase.
The safety and wellbeing of residents and motorists is important
and has always been the biggest consideration of this project.
Consultation will also be carried out with parish and town councils
on part-night lighting proposals. Street lights in areas with
evidence of high accident levels at night, needed for road safety
reasons, in residential areas with higher crime rates, in town
centres will be excluded from the measures. All accidents and crime
in the affected areas will be closely monitored throughout the
project.
Will 30mph speed limits be affected if lights are
switched off?
A 30mph speed limit automatically applies in any road containing
a system of street lights placed not more than 200 yards apart,
unless signposted with a different speed limit. There is no current
law stating that these lights have to be switched on all night to
be applicable. Therefore, motorists are advised that the usual
30mph speed limit will be in place regardless of whether the lights
are switched on or not.
