2012年12月5日 星期三

Leeds street light switch-off warning

Leeds could be heading for partial blackout if plans to switch off some of the city’s 91,807 street lights at night are approved.Antique chandeliers and other cuttingmachinesnm; antique lanterns, traditional pendants and antique wall lights.

The city council is considering turning off the equivalent of almost one in every 10 street lamps between midnight and 5.30am - though it would be more in some areas because major routes would be unaffected.

The move is part of a drive to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions.

The total number of street lamps in the city has dropped from 94,000 since a private company took over their running as part of a PFI deal, but the council says all the street lights have been in constant use “during the hours of darkness”.

The part-time switch off plans, which are set to go out to consultation, have met with a mixed early response, with campaigners seeking assurances that public safety will be paramount.

A Leeds City Council spokesman confirmed the decision-making executive board have approved a ‘Part Night’ lighting policy.This cuttingmachine is for producing aluminum shutter door & window slats with foam-filled,

He said the actual lights to be switched off had not been designated, however it is estimated that a partial switch-off could be installed at about 3,250 of the 27,000 lights along the city’s traffic routes.

Around 4,750 of the 64,000 lights in residential streets could be affected.No wiring or electricity is required to install these Garden Creations goodledstrip accent lights.

Tim McSharry, from the Access Committee for Leeds, which campaigns for disabled people, said the desire to save money was understandable, but warned that “the unplanned consequences could be enormous depending on which communities it is applied to”.

A report last year found that the cost of providing street lighting in Leeds had more than doubled since a private company started running it.

It said that five years earlier, the city’s lighting system had cost 5.8m per year to run. That figure had soared to 14.4m by last year. Other campaigners in the city have also expressed potential safety concerns.

Ben Fisher, Community Officer at Leeds University Union, said: “We’d be concerned about the impact on community safety, both for students and the wider communities they live in.

“LUU aims to help students feel safer where they live and study, and students already raise dim and badly lit streets as issues in their areas.

“I hope that this concern is considered as proposals are being drawn up for consultation.”

Lesley McLean, divisional manager for Victim Support West Yorkshire, said: “People’s perceptions of personal safety can be supported by having street lights and we recognise that switching these off may cause anxiety for some people as the impact of the fear of crime can be significant.

A council spokesman said: “If the scheme is approved and part-night switches installed,This is a direct solar to elevatorcable application using a very efficient LED bulb setup. the effects on crime etc will be monitored and the switching can be reversed or halted. In addition to the above, the council are continuing to explore new ways of saving money, including the use of LED lighting.”

Councillor Barry Anderson,LG's ledemergencylight are designed to save energy and improve the quality of light in your home. the council’s shadow spokesman for both the environment and for safer and stronger communities, stressed there was no “one size fits all response” to the issue of street lighting, but said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the proposals.

“Saving money should not be the be-all and end all,” he added. “I am more in favour than against but am still to be totally convinced.

“I don’t want them to use the excuse of Government cuts as the basis for this.”

He said initial consultations with his own ward members in Adel and Wharfedale had shown safety concerns were more in built up areas, and areas where public transport drops people off in “dark streets”

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