davefrk Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Well, our estate has been getting new LED street lights and a few months ago parts of the pavements in our road were resurfaced .... BEFORE they did the the lights..... Now that would be okay if the old poles were being removed and the new ones put in the same hole but no, the new poles are being set back from the kerb by some 5 feet so a trench is cut across the pavement to join the cables from the old position to the new one. The pavements had been resurfaced after the various trenches for recent new gas pipes, BT cables, etc had sunk or broken up causing possible trip hazards so now we have a new trench at every lamp post. Our lights were switched on last week and I have to say the LEDs are dreadful, a poor white light compared to the orange all over glow previously. Yes I know they are a lot cheaper to run and have less light spill upwards but now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you..... Dave Franks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekstuart Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 So your council is in the worst performing 100% then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Yes, nothing much changes ! In our village the path/pavement that runs for about 100 yards past our place, was replaced and beautifully surfaced late in 2014..... Since last June (2015) the contractors have been installing HV cabling which has- so far - necessitated digging up the pavement at one particular point some seven times.. Which needs temporary traffic lights on this busy 'A' road, and the associated noise of stationary lorries during the night ! And they keep coming back !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2016 but now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you..... And yet when they were changed outside our house that was the one thing we were most thankful for. I never realised that motorists with headlamps also like to see it lit 50' up in the air too. As for "Councils" you will find that the service companies for power and utilities are private. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 ... street lights ... but now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you... Street lights? With that avatar I'd expect you to live in the middle of nowhere, like real men, er... like me. We don't have street lights in this here part of Norfolk. Or pavements. Problem solved. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poggy1165 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Our Council has just put LED streetlights in our street. They seem a lot dimmer, but apparently they cost something like 7 times less to run, so given draconian cuts in expenditure they are something of a no brainer. The outcome is that many of us will install porch lighting, so there will be no overall saving, just a cost transferred from the public purse to the individual. Very much the theme of our days. OTOH they have just spent good money introducing a 20 mph speed limit, which as far as I know nobody asked for. The street is quiet, with very little traffic, and no sane person would do more than 25 mph anyway due to the many parked cars and a blind bend. That decision baffles me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekstuart Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Dave, street lights on non trunk roads are the responsibility of the local authority, regardless of whether they sub-contract that responsibility to a third party (most/all do). Equally, on non-trunk roads permission to close or restrict roads and footways (as would be required for re-surfacing) has to be with the permission of the local authority, except in "emergency" situations- gas, electrickery and water for example but not usually communications. The NRSWA - New Road and Street Works Act - requires/d that a road under X years old must have Y feet (or metres now I suspect) re-surfaced if it is cut for any reason.... except when done so in an emergency, which is why nearly all of these things are done under emergency powers I suspect. I was a NRSWA authorised inspector due to an interesting job I had in the late 90's. But after nearly 20 years it's possible it has changed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 .... now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you..... Saving money by making you spend money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JohnR Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2016 Well, our estate has been getting new LED street lights and a few months ago parts of the pavements in our road were resurfaced .... BEFORE they did the the lights..... Now that would be okay if the old poles were being removed and the new ones put in the same hole but no, the new poles are being set back from the kerb by some 5 feet so a trench is cut across the pavement to join the cables from the old position to the new one. The pavements had been resurfaced after the various trenches for recent new gas pipes, BT cables, etc had sunk or broken up causing possible trip hazards so now we have a new trench at every lamp post. Our lights were switched on last week and I have to say the LEDs are dreadful, a poor white light compared to the orange all over glow previously. Yes I know they are a lot cheaper to run and have less light spill upwards but now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you..... Dave Franks. I didnt realise that purpose of street lighting was so you didnt have to have lights on in your front bedroom? Having suffered with having a streetlight right outside our bedroom, I can tell you that we only got a decent nights sleep when it was broken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I didnt realise that purpose of street lighting was so you didnt have to have lights on in your front bedroom? Canny Scots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2016 Canny Scots. As in 'The Hielanman's Umbrella'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Street lights? With that avatar I'd expect you to live in the middle of nowhere, like real men, er... like me. We don't have street lights in this here part of Norfolk. Or pavements. Problem solved. Paul Okay, Paul, I admit it !! They were actually road lights, put up when the A16 through the village was a 'trunk route' maximum 40 mph.....err, possibly minimum as well !! Now we have the benefits of these lights, plus a 30 mph limit. Still 500/600 HGV passing through each day and night and speeds approaching 100 mph on the straight stretch. One ton-up boy I thought was a motorbike, turned out to have two brake lights when it reached the bend. What we need of course is a fatality, awful though that is to admit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 The councils also subcontract the checking of lamp-posts, many of the older concrete & metal ones fail as there is movement in the post either due to external damage or old age. You may have seem a couple of men with a wee digger rocking to posts to check them, every few years. If too many on a street fail, then all will be replaced. I believe new posts must be at the back of the pavement so that drivers have less chance of hitting them -( but less protection for pedestrians ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 About four or five years ago our council started switching off the lights in our part of town after midnight to save money, initially all roads in the neighbourhood were unlit, the closest lights on the main road being nearly 400yds away. My early morning walks into work were pretty hazardous to say the least! Later, after complaints, they sensibly lit alternate lamps on two additional roads which are bus routes. The next year all the lamps locally were replaced by new poles and LED lights left lit all night, a great improvement IMO, cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Street works co-ordination is a very difficult job - even in todays computer / internet / email / twitter etc age. Before I retired I planned replacement gas mains in the North West. Some (but not all) councils held monthly street works co-ordination meetings, where the various utilities met the council (and each other) with their programmed works for the following month(s). I regularly attended Wigan, Bolton & Halton (Runcorn) meetings, some others also but they were sporadic.. They were useful especially co-ordinating large jobs, but they just don't work with the myriad small jobs which occur daily, especially emergency / urgent works. I would like to think we all did our best back then (around 1995 - 2003). Sometimes departments in the council don't communicate with each other (as in this case) - nothing new really. The Bolton meetings were extraordinarily formal held in a superbly decorated victorian meeting room at the town hall, complete with uniformed waitresses serving tea and biccies from a silver service. Bet that has gone now !!! Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Well, our estate has been getting new LED street lights and a few months ago parts of the pavements in our road were resurfaced .... BEFORE they did the the lights..... Now that would be okay if the old poles were being removed and the new ones put in the same hole but no, the new poles are being set back from the kerb by some 5 feet so a trench is cut across the pavement to join the cables from the old position to the new one. The pavements had been resurfaced after the various trenches for recent new gas pipes, BT cables, etc had sunk or broken up causing possible trip hazards so now we have a new trench at every lamp post. Our lights were switched on last week and I have to say the LEDs are dreadful, a poor white light compared to the orange all over glow previously. Yes I know they are a lot cheaper to run and have less light spill upwards but now we have to put our lights on to see in the front bedrooms, I ask you..... Dave Franks. Don't get me started on Councils, LED street lights and lamposts... P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Saunders Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Our Council has just put LED streetlights in our street. They seem a lot dimmer, but apparently they cost something like 7 times less to run, so given draconian cuts in expenditure they are something of a no brainer. The outcome is that many of us will install porch lighting, so there will be no overall saving, just a cost transferred from the public purse to the individual. Very much the theme of our days And then turn half of them off at about midnight till about five in the morning! Mark Saunders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekstuart Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Too late... Don't get me started on Councils, LED street lights and lamposts... P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tearaway Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Street lights? With that avatar I'd expect you to live in the middle of nowhere, like real men, er... like me. We don't have street lights in this here part of Norfolk. Or pavements. Problem solved. Paul But doesn't the constant sound of the locals playing "Dueling Banjoes" throughout the night become annoying at some point?? Up in Yorkshire they still use gas street lighting, so I've heard. They like to keep up to date!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Our local council turned the streetlights off along a stretch of road as it was a trunk route between a village and the nearest town and as the lights were deemed to be of minimal value, the running cost couldn't be justified. The same lights are now in the process of being replaced by new LED ones. We're waiting with baited breath to see if they're going to turn them on.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mikes rail Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2016 Over here they changed the lampposts outside the airport a few years back then found the new ones were to tall to meet aviation rules anyone got a hacksaw? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 "Don't get me started!" P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2016 "Don't get me started!" regen-etc42-EditSM.jpg P If that isn't photoshopped it doesn't matter anyway, as it's just base coat tarmac in front of an empty house. If the local authority was responsible I doubt they would drop the kerb with a light there as the cable would be flagged as an issue. If it is on an estate then the road wouldn't be adopted as it's unfinished and the lighting would be the responsibility of the developer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 You actually have street lights. My local one went last Easter when the leccy people demolished it while trying to repair a fault. Temporary cables running in and out of letter boxes for several days was fun. The lamp post was removed and no sign of any replacement. We do not use the front bedroom that much so it's not too expensive to put the light on from time to time. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted January 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2016 How likely is it that a 'heritage' style lamp post would be installed in a new development? It does remind me of another council inconsistency though. My previous house was in an area of late 19th terraces that was declared an 'Improvement Area' in the late 80s. The existing street lamps were a mixture of partly the above type with original swan-neck tops and filament bulbs and a hotch-potch of post war replacements. It was decided they should all match and be 'in period' so a number of old style lamps removed from elsewhere in the city were dug out of store and erected to replace the odd ones. Only a few years later the heritage lamps were ripped out and replaced with modern ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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