Forum Topic

Street lighting *@*! Up!

Flying in to Heathrow on saturday was interesting.I had a splendid view of Chiswick and Brentford and even noticed our house...in the dark.We have new street lighting. I now have the dormer window and roof illuminated.  The trees in Chiswick High road are beautifully illuminated. Unfortunately, the pavement and roads are not.When arriving home the cold LED lighting takes a bit of getting used to but it is energy efficient.But for some reason as yet unexplained, the new columns are nearly 2 metres taller than the previous ones.The light spread is all over the roof and front of the houses but very poor over the road and pavement with concentrated pools of light and big areas of hard dark shadow.Worst of all is the increase in light pollution. From the air there is now reflected light from roofs and trees. The stray light is way off the scale. So much for LBHs claims to be reducing light pollution.This impacts the urban envirionment quite severely. Light in trees damages the life cycle of bird life and indeed insects they feed on.Severly pruning trees which is the 'cure for badly positioned and overheight lighting reduces the effectiveness of the tree in reducing CO2 and filtering dust.All in all a very expensive cock up. Clearly not thought through by those resposible.

Raymond Havelock ● 4111d6 Comments

There are issues with 'Blue Light' that are beginning to be reported and researched. LEDs, monitors and smartphones being the sourcesThere have long been health issues with many forms of outdoor high output lighting.Most street lighting lanterns and designs have been designed to minimise the effects.It certainly has not occurred here as the light on so many properties clearly shows.It does appear to be a rather careless project.What is wrong here is the design.  To save money the PFI are using the same existing locations to avoid jointing. In other words new mains cabling.Because the designs are standardised, it it also restricted in effectiveness. A one size fits all policy.  Which cannot really work with such diverse housing stock and road types.On B roads No boom arms are deployed, so lights are now positioned in the wrong place where trees are concerned.Columns are also too tall for many residential streets causing roofs and bedroom windows to be lit by the poor lighting spread from LEDs. Light deflectors are not being used as the design being utilised does not have a facility to fit a deflector.Other authorities are trialling LEDs for mainstream street lighting and eventually it will be got right. But it is not looking like a prudent move here in Hounslow .The PFI needs to be suspended and a review of the project including design effectiveness and safety are fully satisfied.

Anthony Waller ● 4110d

No, it's just a council thing. They lack intelligent people.What can you do?

Ian Silver ● 4110d

So if the air pollution doesn't get us, the light pollution will!  Whichever way you look at it, we're doomed!

Mary A O'Hanlon ● 4111d

Me too - thought it sounded very dubious until I started to read the reports in earnest. The research is good peer reviewed material from a growing number of studies. If you review it you'll see that any claims are cautiously put forward with the usual scientific caveats. There's also recognition from the American Medical Association and the EU on the need to explore the risks further. Check this one out for example: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_035.pdf

Russell Pearson ● 4111d

Whilst I'll admit to doubting the health risks (I tend to think you can find evidence to support virtually anything on the internet) the difference along Kew Bridge Road in terms of light distribution has been very noticeable - before, looking towards the street from my balcony I'd see a dimly lit street (perfectly fine for its purpose) but now the whole street and the environs are baked in light, like a yellowy hue.Whether it is a bigger mistake than the Twickenham Road 'improvements' I'm not so sure - I still don't see what all the expense and work on Twickenham Road actually achieved for pedestrians, cyclists or drivers.

Adam Beamish ● 4111d

Yes, a very expensive mistake has been made here. Not only are these highly directional LEDs producing massive amounts of light pollution with obtrusive light trespassing into people's windows, there's also a growing amount of research highlighting potential serious health risks with the type of light they emit.The intense white light noticed is actually produced by light in the blue spectrum. Even in tiny amounts the studies show, it makes us alert, disrupting our circadian rhythms and suppresses the production of melatonin. Melatonin is important for health. Decreased melatonin has long been associated with a higher risk of cancer for example and this connection was first noticed in shift workers. Attention has now started to turn to what high intensity blue spectrum lights are doing to people as they're rolled out across cities across the globe. Here's a few of the studies that are available outside of medical databases, I won't labour the point:Haifa University Israelhttp://chronobiol.haifa.ac.il/images/articles/YJEMA2821[1].pdfhttp://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0001247Dark Skies USAhttp://www.darksky.org/assets/documents/Reports/IDA-Blue-Rich-Light-White-Paper.pdfCanadian Scotobiology Group:http://www.csbg.ca/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USAhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/10/105/There's a lot more - just Google around "LED, pollution, cancer, melatonin, blue" etcOh and before someone makes a smartrse reply, better blackout curtains are a very good idea, but they don't address the core issue.

Russell Pearson ● 4111d