Thousands call for night-time street lights to be reinstated

8:00am Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Anna Slater

Those petitioning for overnight street lighting in Hertfordshire say their campaign is still going strong.

The 5,000-signature petition was launched after Hertfordshire County Council took the decision to turn the street lights off at night late last year.

Campaign leader, Daniel Graham, who lives in Radlett, is determined not to give up the fight and is urging as many people as possible to sign.

He said: "I am absolutely thrilled so many have chosen to support our petition. It just goes to show how many people feel strongly about this.

"We really are pouring everything we can into this petition, I am determined to make it a success."

The father-of-two believes that having no overnight street lighting can be "dangerous" and it also forces people to abide by a curfew.

He added: "This is a nice community but if there are no street lights to guide you, that can be scary no matter where you are.

"There is also a fear that crime figures will spike. It is not fair for us to live in fear."

The group has set up a Facebook group to advertise their campaign, which now has more than 1,500 members.

The lights were turned off last November from midnight to 6am, and campaigners say this was done without any consultation.

Sue Alford, 46, of Hunter Close, Borehamwood, called herself a "night bird" but said the lighting has stunted her day-to-day life.

She said: "I find the county council is disrespecting people who enjoy being out at night. It affects people’s freedom.

"We have no idea how many people we need to make a difference but I would love it if our petition reached 10,000 members.

"I hope more people in Hertfordshire come forward to sign it before our deadline."

The petition can be signed until December 31.

Comments(11)

sadlersmead says...
9:11am Fri 14 Sep 12

What is the facebook group called? The only one I could find by searching "hertfordshire lights" on facebook has only 11 members!

I would like to support this campaign as it has made my early morning run near impossible in the winter months.

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Reg Edit says...
9:54am Fri 14 Sep 12

Here's the link for the petition, for those who want to sign it


https://consult.hert
sdirect.org/petition
s/petition?petition_
id=26045


At UKIP we are always interested in democracy.

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Not swimming says...
9:56am Fri 14 Sep 12

Those who did the Starlight walk & those who have to walk anywhere before 06.30 in the darker mornings will confirm that the lack of lights is rediculous

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Not swimming says...
9:59am Fri 14 Sep 12

Not swimming wrote:
Those who did the Starlight walk & those who have to walk anywhere before 06.30 in the darker mornings will confirm that the lack of lights is rediculous
Before 06.00 is more acurate - people walk in the road rather than the pavement - less chance of tripping over uneven paths, obstacles eg bins etc on bin days or stepping in dog mess

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TRT says...
10:36am Fri 14 Sep 12

Perhaps they could have achieved a similar level of saving by turning off every other street light on ALL roads, maybe 2 out of 3 lights on minor roads where possible.
As it is, I don't find the turn off a problem at all, barring the idiotic cyclists who refuse to use lights as they are supposed to.

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Honest Rog says...
10:59am Fri 14 Sep 12

A good idea TRT. Why didn't they think of switching off alternate lights?
UKIP/Democracy? Oxymoron or what? Oh, just spotted "Interested in democracy" Hmm

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Nascot says...
1:45pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Honest Rog wrote:
A good idea TRT. Why didn't they think of switching off alternate lights? UKIP/Democracy? Oxymoron or what? Oh, just spotted "Interested in democracy" Hmm
Seems like a sensible idea but I believe there are rules and lights are either 'on' or 'off' in an area. Otherwise it screws up things like speed limits and I do recall many years ago someone getting off a speeding charge because some crafty lawyer measured the distance between lights and found it was a few feet out. As this meant the apparent speed limit did not apply his client got off the charge. Personally (and my road is switched off) I agree with this.

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TRT says...
1:58pm Fri 14 Sep 12

That rule is to do with the spacing of the lamp standards and the national speed limit. If it applied to the lights being lit rather than the lamp standards, then the national speed limit for unlit roads would apply between ~12 and ~6am (or during a power cut), which would mean you could do 60mph!

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stoneage says...
2:01pm Fri 14 Sep 12

I don't see a problem. There are raods in Sarratt and Chorleywood that don't have any street lights and there are no complaints. I grew up in a village outside Bath and the street lights went off at midnight and on at 6am in the morning if it was still dark. All you need to do is carry a small torch if you are out late. I think it is great that the lights go out. Now we need to see sense on the over lit motorways and turn every other light out.

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TRT says...
2:07pm Fri 14 Sep 12

There is certainly a lot of other un-needed light that the council could be encouraging businesses to cut down on. Century Retail park, for one, which is lit up all day and night.

I contacted London Overground about the lights being on at Bushey station 24/7. I was told that it was due to the Paralympics and that once the event was over, the lighting would resume its regular timed switching.

(1) What difference were those lights making to anyone during the Paralympics?
(2) I'll believe it when I see it. Sounds like a load of guff to me.

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Nascot says...
9:21pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Eat carrots. Good for the eyesight! .

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