I’m guessing with all the white lights going up these days there’s some kind of plan?

Is it a Scottish government thing, or a UK thing? And is there an expected completion date? Or is it just a case of replace them as the orange lights fail?

I quite like them would like to see a total conversion.

It’s UK wide. Up to the local council AIUI. I doubt there is any kind of national plan to actually get it done

What, you mean the replacing of those horrible yellow sodium lights with much more economic LED lights, which have much less backscatter, cause much less light pollution, and are better for those living nearby because they have sharper edged light spread which means houses behind no longer have their walls and windows lit up at night.
No, there’s no obvious plan involved at all.

We’ve had them on our street for a couple of years now (Sheffield). Our road’s a cul-de-sac and they don’t seem like the best suited lights. They seem to work better (imo) on major roads, ie on the A61 nearby, they’re fine.

IIRC our council have been doing a street at a time, and I think there was some capital funding for it from Holyrood. Benefits (apart from the upheaval) are obviously that they can put better light heads on them too and direct more light downwards and across rather than old sodium lights going every which way..

They’re popping up around me (East Midlands). Looks like they’re putting them up at random places rather than whole streets, so maybe some form of initial test ahead of a bigger roll out. Not completely keen – I actually think LED lighting scatters more – it might be more directed but seems to dazzle more. The Sodium lighting was dimmer and less obtrusive I think and spread the light over a wider area, the LED ones seem alot brighter and more dazzly. But ultimately if its good for light pollution and power consumption then i’m all for it.

The one thing they have done around me is to turn off every other light after a certain time at night. Unfortunately i’m not keen on this as I have a street light outside my house which I think is beneficial from a security point, but not it turns off at midnight or whenever I feel my house is slightly less secure – maybe i’m being a bit paranoid.

CountZero – Member
What, you mean the replacing of those horrible yellow sodium lights with much more economic LED lights, which have much less backscatter, cause much less light pollution, and are better for those living nearby because they have sharper edged light spread which means houses behind no longer have their walls and windows lit up at night.

Come & live in Yate. Tight fisted gits at Yate town council turn ’em all off about midnight and its pitch black! – I think they’re getting a back hander of the local scroates.

Don’t seem to reduce the light pollution – in fact I’m sure I read somewhere they cause more as can be seen from higher altitudes as there is less detail visible due to the glare, they are a much harder and brighter light. Got 2 at either side of my house and I can read a book without a light on, so unsure how CountZero thinks they throw light better.
I think they are more economical as they are led so use less power – which I think is a good thing.
However, they would be superb if I didn’t have 1 on either side of my house keeping it well lit during evenings, nights and early mornings.

They are changing ours just now. Pretty sure they just changed them all 2 years ago, 2 years before that they had just changed them including new lamp posts, which were a replacement for the 3 year old posts that were already there. I suspect someone may have a close relationship with the lighting contractor.

Back in Worthing some years ago someone actually had the brilliant idea of numbering every single lamp post with a specially made metal plate.

much less backscatter, cause much less light pollution

Ummmm…. Not in my village they don’t. Sodium lights meant we could see the Milky Way in all its glory from the back garden. Switch to “eco-friendly” lamps and we can see bugger all. They’re horrendous from a light pollution point of view. I can see the energy efficiency argument though.

Surprised people get their street lights turned off, never heard of nor noticed that happening.

Some areas of Newcastle do it, I wish all towns did after a certain time.

00:30 and they turn them off in Newton Abbot. Mind you, I don’t even get a street light within half a mile of my house so it doesn’t bother me that much.

Most are going up as part of pfi (privately funded initiatives).
Mostly, they just get dumped in the same place, but the focus is profitability rather than usefulness.

Trafford Council are spending £9 million on them.
“A £9m cost-effective LED street lighting project was introduced last year, and is around half way through. That will save £100,000 next year.”
So, 90 years to break even?

They seem quite controversial
http://darksky.org/5-popular-myths-about-led-streetlights/

Come & live in Yate. Tight fisted gits at Yate town council turn ’em all off about midnight and its pitch black! – I think they’re getting a back hander of the local scroates.

Pretty sure I read somewhere that crime increases when street lights are introduced into a street as they make it more accessible.

Street light turn off is great. Means far less light pollution and can see proper stars.

There have been a number of studies which have concluded street lights being turned off hasn’t increased crime or accidents and in some cases has actually gone down.

Noting cars are perfectly capable of driving with headlights on unlit streets. Most car accidents occur at junctions. Daylight, lit or unlit, doesn’t matter.

Crime – oddly criminals seem to like to see what they’re doing. ASBO types hang about in lit areas more than unlit.

Got 2 at either side of my house and I can read a book without a light on, so unsure how CountZero thinks they throw light better.

It may be down to distance buildings are from the lights; in Bath, where many sodium lights have been replaced by LED, the houses behind, many of which are three or four stories, are now almost completely dark at night, whereas they would still have an orange cast across them with the old lights, plus after a certain time they dim by around 50%. When it’s foggy, you can clearly see a very sharp edge to the light, whereas the old sodium lights just had a fuzzy halo all around them. If you actually stand at the front door of these houses, you can’t actually see the nearest light at all, only the edges of the ones further away, but you’d need a torch to read anything in your hand.
I know, I’ve tried it when a friend of mine lived in Bath, after the new lights were introduced.
The lights down my road are mostly the old style vertical ‘coffee-grinder’ style, and illuminate everything around, except the path below, but some houses around a green just down the road have LED’s outside, when it’s dark the houses are very difficult to pick out detail on their frontage, but the access road/path is very clearly lit now