STREET lighting investment in our local neighbourhoods leads to residents caring more about where they live.

It promotes security in urban areas and increases our quality of life.  

Better streetlights make people feel safer when walking at night.

There is evidence from across 13 studies that both violent and property crime was reduced by an average of 21% in areas with improved street lighting compared to areas without.  

Street lighting also improves the safety of drivers, and cyclists, as well as pedestrians.

Driving is shown to be more dangerous outside of daylight hours.

Studies indicate that only a quarter of all travel by car drivers is between the hours of 7pm and 8am, but 40% of fatal and serious injuries take place during these times.  

The financial savings from reduced crimes and reducing the risk to all road users greatly exceeds the financial costs of any improved street lighting installed.  

In Glasgow, the continued investment in street lighting is anticipated to be £7.5 million over the next three years.

There is a plan to ensure those lighting columns that are most at risk of failing are prioritised for replacement.  

Residents raise street lighting faults as a key issue that they want resolved by councillors.

It seems from the information available in roads infrastructure reports that additional funding and technical expertise is needed to achieve a good standard of street lighting across the city that people want.

The projected investment is around £6.5m per annum over 14 years to address longer term lighting issues.  

More support could be provided by national policy frameworks to overcome the barriers to delivering this investment.

There can be increased replacement of any damaged old sodium lanterns with LED lights, and increased effort for a reduction in the city’s energy consumption and delivering savings against the council’s climate change targets.

The installing of LED lights is enabling the council to introduce streetlights which reduce long term maintenance costs and improve lighting levels.  

Whilst we can push for more efficient light to generate large cost savings and reductions in energy usage, these changes alone will not create a safer, more attractive environment or increase community participation.

The focus has to be on a shift from more efficient lighting to more effective lighting.  

The traditional street lighting is based on designing for vehicle traffic.

This has led to investment directed at lighting vehicle carriageways and only indirectly considering the pedestrian use of streets.  

From discussions with women concerned about street lighting in their local neighbourhood, they hope the council can provide more support for them to feel safer when walking around their local residential streets.

They want to help create more inclusive street lighting.  

We have to acknowledge the wider benefits of the feedback and engagement of residents in the process of designing safer city streets.

As part of the upgrade of our streetlights, we can continue to rethink traditional models of urban lighting.

By adopting a feminist planning approach, we can ensure any investment produces the maximum benefit for both residents and visitors.