Turn lights out to save our money (From Dorset Echo)

Turn lights out to save our money

10:26am Monday 6th February 2012 in Your letters

I REFER to the letter ‘I’m in the dark’ (Your Say, January 26).

I can’t understand why the council doesn’t grasp the opportunity to save money by turning street lights off after midnight or, maybe as a compromise, 1am.

Weymouth is lit up like a Christmas tree throughout the night, costing a fortune to taxpayers, let alone the light pollution that it causes.

Two examples where the lights are burning wastefully throughout the night are the Preston Beach Road and the Ferrybridge route to Portland Causeway.

I doubt if there are any pedestrians walking around on those roads in the early hours so why light them up?

I’m sure there are many other examples of this wasteful practice.

Cars and bikes that are travelling around in the early hours have headlights, so don’t need the roads lit.

I can understand some residents wanting to keep street lights in residential areas because of fear of crime, although there is no evidence that this would lead to an increase in late night crime.

Most vandalism and burglary is conducted in streets well lit with street lamps so their fears seem without foundation.

Security lights are cheap and on sale in most DIY stores if peace of mind is required to allay any fears on that score.

The council should be looking at some of these wasteful expenditures instead of constantly going for the easy options of redundancies, library closures etc.

It seems obvious really.

J Dyer Ringstead Crescent Weymouth