To light the night or not
On the Western Hills residents are opposed to increasing the number of street lights in order to maintain character and increase safety.
“The issue is that on narrow, windy roads, the safety aspect of being able to see cars headlights coming is important.
“I’m not sure about the statistics, but the introduction of street lights encourages traffic to move faster at night,” says Normandale Residents Association president Peter Matcham.
He says the ambience of the area would be affected if too many lights were installed.
“There is a lack of the night sky ... light pollution is not what we call it, but that is what it is.
“We are rather the other way about street lights to most places, we are concerned about the suburbanisation of the Western Hills,” he says.
Harbour Ward councillor Ross Jamieson is a keen cyclist and is pushing for more pedestrian lights installed south of the Ava Rail Bridge.
“To the north the track is fine, but I’m pushing for more lights to the south.
“We really have quite conservative engineers at council, some of the things they can do with solar lights now is fantastic,” says Mr Jamieson.
When the stop bank north of the bridge was straightened, pedestrian lights were installed beside Hutt Valley High School, which have greatly improved the area’s night-time attraction. The lights also make it easier to travel the route and not hit into people walking.
“The lights on bikes make it very difficult to pick up people when they are walking,” Mr Jamieson says.
Eastbourne Community Board chairman Ian Young says he enjoyed one night last week when the power to Eastbourne was cut.
“Without the street lights it was just wonderful at night under the stars
“But I know it can’t be like that all the time,” Mr Young says.
The board tries to strike a balance between providing a safe environment and keeping lights from shining into people homes. Street lights were recently installed at the entrance to Pencarrow Heads.
