Forum Topic

Light a penny candle????

Today we just had the new replacement LED Street Lights in our road. Has anyone else had these new lights recently?According to the letter from the council these lights are supposed to help reduce street crime and accidents!  All I can say is that it would be better to light a candle instead!These lights are really dim compared to the old ones. Perhaps we had better carry a torch if we go out for the evening!

Jean F Fernandez ● 3813d33 Comments

Are you on a straight road with lights either side as normal? My sister is at the end of a short cul-de-sac and the single light is not ideal because it is designed to be at the side, not the end, of the road. The cut-off just behind the lamp just covers the pavement, but is above the first floor of houses either side, and it does not illuminate the short road. I have requested an alternative lamp or side baffles, but of course no response from Ealing Council.

Christopher Bell ● 3767d

SaraThere may not have been lighting because nowadays these things are done in stages.  Numerous little groups of workmen each doing one little task before it can be ticked off the list and passed on to the next group...

Philippa Bond ● 3768d

The following might make interesting reading for those of us who hate the industrial/ football pitch floodlighting effect of the new lights, which many feel is not only ugly and uncomfortable and wholly inappropriate to a street of Victorian houses..but unhealthy and bad for both humans and animal life too.https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26383-lighting-cities-with-cheap-glaring-leds-is-a-dim-move/Ealing (and Hounslow) have obviously gone for the cheapest option with no regard for either effectiveness or aesthetic comfort. I dread the winter months ewhen the leaves will be off the tree outside our bedroom window and we will have to resort to blitz-style blackout cardboard at the bedroom window like they have done in Chiswick:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2598966/Bright-sparks-Multi-million-pound-project-replace-street-lights-LED-lamps-leaves-residents-feeling-like-living-football-pitch-dazzling.html

Cathy Johns ● 3768d

Working fine on St Dunstans, could see foxes on the other side of the green.I prefer them to the old ones. We have one just outside the bedroom window and our bedroom used to be lit up in a spooky orange glow.

Kim Rugg ● 3769d

We have these new Lights,USELESS!!!!!!!

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3770d

If you are looking at the lights from a distance you should not see them at all because there should be very little spill. By the way I do not have perfect vision, one of my eyes is now almost totally insensitive, but I am glad to be still alive at all.

Christopher Bell ● 3770d

Christopher - maybe the trees in the park cause some of the problems in East Churchfield Road.  Glad you can see perfectly well - just pity those of us who have eyesight problems!

Nina Battleday ● 3770d

I find the new lights are aimed specifically to illuminate a straight road and pavements, with minimum spill outside that area. Trees may restrict the coverage. They appear slightly green to me, and humans are most sensitive to green light, I can see perfecly well with the new lights.

Christopher Bell ● 3770d

Sarah, when I came home the other evening I looked up Goldsmiths Road and it looked very dim, although the infamous new lights were apparently working.  I've put in a complaint to Ealing as well - but am not holding my breath!

Nina Battleday ● 3770d

Are they in Goldsmith Road yet?I reported total darkness there last week - literally no sign of light - which is why I tripped over an uneven pavement and measured my length sprawled on the ground covered in bruises.But was it the lights were out or the new ones were being wholly ineffective?There was one bright light near the top of the road.Naturally enough, there has been no more than a holding reply to my reporting this.

Sara Nathan ● 3770d

When these lights were put in in LBH there were a lot of complaints. I suggest you post on there to see if you can find out what the outcomes were to the problems they had. I think you can have baffles added to lights so that they don't shine directly into your home. I don't think you should just be putting up with it if it is a big problem.  I bet the Council are waiting for your feedback!

Philippa Bond ● 3770d

Is there anything we can do about it I wonder? Complain to Ealing?

Cathy Johns ● 3770d

Have recently had to come home after dark and the lighting is truly dreadful.  And the pavements just near the level crossing going towards East Churchfield Road are in such bad condition that walking is now a hazard.Truly awful lighting, both from the aesthetic and safety points of view.

Nina Battleday ● 3771d

Well, we've just had the horrid lights put in here and we now have football pitch floodlights glaring into our front room. The cold harsh light that the street is now bathed in is SO depressing, and . Feels like winter out there, despite being a lovely  May evening. And they don't even effectively light the street either.No consultation as usual, they just dumped them on us.Notice, by the way, that the good burghers of Bedford Park, though Ealing residents like us humble Acton folk, haven't been subjected to this treatment and have hung on to their traditional, warm, human-friendly lighting.That's what you get for your bucks, I guess.

Cathy Johns ● 3771d

The Council love them,SMALLER BILLS!!!!!!!

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3799d

Beryl, a friend told me these lights do get brighter in the wee small hours, but I am tucked up in bed by then!They seem to come on too late some evenings - it is during the evenings we do need proper lighting in the streets, what's the point just before dawn?

Jean F Fernandez ● 3799d

I have discovered that when walking the dog around 11.30 pm the lights are so much brighter than if I go earlier !!

Beryl Bashford ● 3799d

I hope you won't have the same problem as they complained of in Chiswick where the lights were above the trees.

Philippa Bond ● 3801d

The light that was not working has now been repaired - so it's on all day as well as night!  I'm seriously worried about how dark it is in East Churchfield Road - coming home on a dark winter evening will be quite scary.  It looks very pretty, but totally unsafe for lone people, particularly the part just opposite the park, where there isn't any light from other houses.

Nina Battleday ● 3807d

East Churchfield feels dangerous now - not helped by the fact that one of the lights is not working.  I've reported this and hope it's repaired soon.  But the road from Acton Central going past the Almshouses now seems very dark and unsafe.  Not good for people using it at night.

Nina Battleday ● 3812d

How much money has the Council wasted on Wheelie Bins?Some £300.000.00 some mentioned!!!!!

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3812d

Well so far my neighbours HATE them!

Jean F Fernandez ● 3812d

One said this council is penny wise and pound foolish!

Jean F Fernandez ● 3812d

They are being fitted around the East Acton "Golf Links" area. They are designed to illuminate just the road, with a definite cut-off for other areas. Unfortunately my sister lives at the end of a short cul-de-sac, and the new light cuts off at first floor level on houses either side of the small square but does not illuminate the short road itself. The only cure would be a different design or an extra lamp.

Christopher Bell ● 3812d

Maybe while they are at it they can chase Boris for some money to install the WiFi that he promised would be in place (via lampposts) before the 2012 Olympics ...http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-vendors/london-mayor-promises-city-wide-wifi-coverage-20376/

Paul Webster ● 3812d

WE ALSO HAVE THESE USELESS LIGHTS IN RAVENOR PARK ROAD,AGAINLIKE THE WHEELIE BINS,FROM GOOD TO WORSE!!!!!!!!!

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3812d

We've had them in Berrymead Gardens for a while now, though I can't remember when they were changed!?

Lucy Walker ● 3812d

The fact that the old street lights are lighting the inside of your house shows what a waste they are. The new ones do just that, light the street not our homes. When I have guests in the house I leave a small light on so they can find there way around the house at night.Personally I find the current orange glow that bathes the inside of my house at night very annoying. (I don't have black out curtains). I am looking forward to seeing the stars at night as there will be less light pollution. Yes it is a matter of taste and getting used to but it will save a lot of energy.

Kim Rugg ● 3813d

Of course everyone will have their own opinion on these LED lights but these omit a cold glow which I really don't like.I think it will take some time to become more comfortabale with the new street lights.Previously we had no need to turn on the hall light or landing light if we get up in the night, now I will have a small torch next to the bed!Make up your own minds folks, these will be in your street between now and June.

Jean F Fernandez ● 3813d

I for one will welcome them. The old ones light up the whole street in an orange  'daylight'. A big waste. LED will save energy as well as just lighting downwards.

Kim Rugg ● 3813d

We've just had a letter through the door saying we are all being done.

Sara Nathan ● 3813d

Hi Bob, It is Faraday Road, off Horn Lane.

Jean F Fernandez ● 3813d

Can you tell us which road it is so we can see for ourselves, this might be done in more roads later on?

Bob Little ● 3813d