Street Lighting Times

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Thursday guy

Active Member
I haven't noticed it, but I don't which roads come under highways england and which are under the local council
 
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mjr

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
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the_mikey

Legendary Member
Different sensors, also the threshold for each sensor is unlikely to be identical. Also some light circuits now employ 'smart' lighting technology that allows councils to remotely control when lights turn on and off.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
A lot of Highways England ones are newer and fitted with light sensors - a lot of the council ones are older and fitted with timers. For those with sensors, it'll also depend on the type of sensor fitted.

Shudders at the thought of the horrible set back timers used on lots of columns in Cheshire . Hated fault finding them as they had light sensors, a timer controlled by the light level and multiple lamps .
 

Glow worm

Legendary Member
Location
Near Newmarket
Different sensors, also the threshold for each sensor is unlikely to be identical. Also some light circuits now employ 'smart' lighting technology that allows councils to remotely control when lights turn on and off.

You are very lucky. I wish they'd do that here. Most of Cambridgeshire resembles Las Vegas at night - even the smallest of villages is stuffed with blindingly bright lights. It's a bit ridiculous really. Suffolk have a much more civilised approach to lighting, happily leaving many villages unlit. Perhaps there are fewer townies there moving to the countryside there then whingeing about the dark ^_^
 
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mjr

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
So people aren't seeing a consistent difference? Here, Norfolk has been upgrading to the "blindingly bright" more-efficient LED lights for the last few years but the sensors/timers seem set to wait until lighting up time (if not slightly after), whereas the HE's A47 looks like it's still using the yellowy low-pressure sodium lights but they come on as soon as it starts getting dark.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Two roads, both local authority maintained. Thirty yards apart.
On one the lights come on later and go of upto three hours earlier.

Try riding somewhere that has no streetlighting.
 
The sensor type lights are okish, but on my street in the summer they come on earlier and for longer than in winter due to the shade of the trees triggering switch on/off time.
 
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the_mikey

Legendary Member
You are very lucky. I wish they'd do that here. Most of Cambridgeshire resembles Las Vegas at night - even the smallest of villages is stuffed with blindingly bright lights. It's a bit ridiculous really. Suffolk have a much more civilised approach to lighting, happily leaving many villages unlit. Perhaps there are fewer townies there moving to the countryside there then whingeing about the dark ^_^

Many french towns and villages have had a no lighting after midnight (10pm in some places) policy for decades, if not longer...
 

PeteXXX

Cake or ice cream? The choice is endless ...
Location
Hamtun
The council here in Northampton turned most of the street lighting off a few years ago to save money.
 

robjh

Legendary Member
You are very lucky. I wish they'd do that here. Most of Cambridgeshire resembles Las Vegas at night - even the smallest of villages is stuffed with blindingly bright lights.
Agreed. We recently suffered an upgrade to stupidly bright, coupled with new lampposts that are several feet taller and now blast their light straight into bedroom windows. The company responsible will at least add inadequate 'baffles' to the lights which reduce if not eliminate the intrusion, but the situation is still worse than before. Some lucky side streets near us have no lighting, and I am not aware of any greater safety issue there.
 
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Glow worm

Legendary Member
Location
Near Newmarket
Agreed. We recently suffered an upgrade to stupidly bright, coupled with new lampposts that are several feet taller and now blast their light straight into bedroom windows. The company responsible will at least add inadequate 'baffles' to the lights which reduce if not eliminate the intrusion, but the situation is still worse than before. Some lucky side streets near us have no lighting, and I not aware of any greater safety issue there.

I discovered that with a bit of elbow grease, a good shake of the column, would often switch off a lot of the old lights. That's sadly not the case with these new efforts. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that the only solution is a decent airgun!
 
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mjr

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I discovered that with a bit of elbow grease, a good shake of the column, would often switch off a lot of the old lights. That's sadly not the case with these new efforts. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that the only solution is a decent airgun!
You could always get blackouts to go between your curtains and the glass, instead. Probably similar price and less chance of a criminal damage charge :thumbsup:

My bedroom faces east so I already had blackouts to stop the summer morning sun waking me at stupid o'clock... the new streetlights did make me adjust them slightly to leave absolutely no gaps. So there you go: they're brighter than the sun :eek:
 
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