Street lamps which fail to light the pavements of a Preston street will be replaced

A road in Preston will get new bulbs in its street lamps after highways bosses admitted that they were not bright enough for pedestrians.
White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.
White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.

Larches Lane will see the new lights installed before Christmas, following complaints from residents about the white LED lamps which were introduced on the road as part of a rollout of energy efficient street lighting across the county.

Read More
All of Lancashire's streetlights will have LED bulbs by the end of the decade

Resident Mark Livesey says he measured the effectiveness of the lamps by carrying out a ‘shadow test’.

White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.
White LED street lights will cover every corner of the county by 2020.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I walked the length of Larches Lane and your shadow should constantly be picked up as you pass from one lamppost to the next - but there are areas where your shadow is lost altogether,” Mark explained.

“The pavements are a bit uneven, too, so you can’t see where you’re walking.”

Mark’s wife Marina added that her mother-in-law is now too afraid to walk to a nearby community centre to play bingo. And the couple said they would like to see the return of old-style yellow sodium bulbs to light their street.

Lancashire County Council had considered that possibility as a temporary solution to the problem. However, the authority now says it will be able to source and install replacement LED bulbs - which cast light over a wider area - by mid-December.

Residents of Larches Lane have complained that while their road is lit, their pavements are left in the dark.Residents of Larches Lane have complained that while their road is lit, their pavements are left in the dark.
Residents of Larches Lane have complained that while their road is lit, their pavements are left in the dark.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A spokesperson said: “There is a specific issue on Larches Lane due to the lighting columns being situated near the kerb in order to light the road, but there being some distance to the footway which is separated by a wide verge.

“The LED lamps we'll be using will focus the distribution of light forwards and backwards in order to better light the footway as well as the road."

All of the 125,000 street lights in Lancashire will be powered by LED bulbs within the next two years.

Lancashire County Council began converting lampposts in 2014 and the authority says it will save just over £5m from its annual street lighting bill by the time the work is completed in 2020. The authority has contributed more than £14m to the scheme, with other funding coming from the Department for Transport.

SHINE A LIGHT

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Traditional yellow or orange street lamps have lit the nation’s roads for decades. They use sodium bulbs operating under pressure.

They are a pinkish colour when they are first switched on and take around ten minutes to warm up before they display their full light.

LED (or Light Emitting Diode) bulbs are white and are gradually being introduced by local authorities for street lights across the country.

They can last up to 10 times longer than sodium bulbs and are the most efficient method of lighting available, but are more costly up front.