Disappearing Street Lights

[kevinse16]

Does anyone have any idea why Highways England are removing so much street lighting from Britain's motorways.
I have noticed this on the M32, nearly all of the 'managed motorway' sections of the M25 and M1.
Is it to slow the traffic at night or to save money.
If it's to save money it's a false economy with the onset of the newest generation of LED lights.

[sotonsteve]

Removing street lighting isn't a false economy just because LED exists. LED still consumes power, and columns and lanterns still need maintenance and inspection.

[Robert Kilcoyne]

It would not surprise me if a large part of the SON lighting on the M6 between Warrington and Preston is not replaced and is eventually removed altogether. The lighting is already switched off between 12 midnight and 5 a.m.

[bothar]

Is people's eyesight better than it used to be?

[boliston]

Surely the reason streets have lamps is mainly for the benefit of pedestrains and cyclists so they can see where they are going - as motor vehicles have bright lights capable of lighting the road then there is no real advantage in lighting a motorway

[AutoUnder]

They have just removed some of the lights on the M58 as part of replacing the crash barriers, the lights were switched off already anyway so it wasn't so much of an issue but they have switched off some of the lights on the M6, Preston Bypass. A 4 lane motorway with large sections unlit sounds like a recipe for disaster to me! (the street light have 2 bulbs per fitting which is probably why they chose them)

[Beardy5632]

I have noticed this on the M32...

The same with the M4 in that area, the only bit that's lit now is through the Almondsbury Interchange.
The last time I went into Bristol only the posts were there between there and the M32 and the ones past J21 have been removed recently.

They also took down two thirds of the high masts around J1 of the M48 as well a few years back.

[RJDG14]

A large amount of the lighting on the M5 between Worcester and the M42 has been removed during roadworks, too.

[Johnathan404]

Is people's eyesight better than it used to be?

Mine isn't

[Brenley Corner]

There is just no point in lighting vast swathes of the motorway network when cars are equipped with headlights and tail-lights; even with LEDs it is a waste of money and resources. To have the whole of the M1 from London to the M6 lit, for example, was was just wasteful and now beyond J10 the lighting has been pulled as soon as it reached the end of its useful life in terms of both columns and lanterns - with only a few sections left behind/replaced.
The only place I would light the network is at motorway to motorway junctions, and in sections where junctions are frequent and closely spaced.

Here in Kent the county council also identified areas that would not be lit if todays rules were applied, they turned off the lighting for a couple of years in those areas, and now those columns have been pulled.

As much as I am interested in street lighting, there is no need to have mile upon mile of it.

[Dr Paul]

It's not a motorway any more, as it's now the A40, but I've noticed that the Westway from Paddington has also lost its street-lighting.

I actually prefer motorways to be unlit; I find it easier to detect if a vehicle is overtaking me, because its headlights are that more visible in the dark. The general darkness does not seem adversely to affect my ability to see other vehicles and road features. Do other drivers here feel the same?

[Robert Kilcoyne]

I am rather surprised that the M1 is lit so much in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, yet there is no lighting on the section near Sheffield and Rotherham, which includes the junction with the M18, and where the junctions are more closely spaced.

[sotonsteve]

In the old days before Highways Agency took control it was down to county preference as to whether a motorway got lit or not. Certainly, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are renowned for lighting up miles of wilderness on their A roads, or at least they were before it became unaffordable.

[James]

I am rather surprised that the M1 is lit so much in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, yet there is no lighting on the section near Sheffield and Rotherham, which includes the junction with the M18, and where the junctions are more closely spaced.

As originally the M1 lighting ended at J26; it was later extended to J27, then the whole lot replaced with verge mounted units from J25 and extended to J28 when it was widened to D4M.

Its a bit strange that at J28 the lighting is only on the southern side of the junction and even with the smart motorway works, no lighting was provided on the northern side.

I think mainline motorway lighting isn't generally required, but at junctions it should always be provided, and never half provided like the example above.

Then again I do miss the old days in winter when I would take the M1 from London to Nottingham as it was always fully lit 'till the dark section after the M6!

[ManomayLR]

With all the new M1 smart motorway projects I am seeing quite a bit of LED, especially around J23A-25. I think LED lighting makes an ALR main carriageway look natural and bright, and it highlights just how new the stretch of upgraded road is.
IMO there should be LED lighting throughout on all major routes. Especially on ALR smart motorways, it's important we see vehicles from a distance, because they may have had a full electrical failure in lane 1 which would otherwise go unnoticed until it's too late. Also, occupants of broken down vehicles on the live carriageway need to be able to see well so they can leave quickly.

Lighting should be in the verges at or near all junctions, but mostly in the central reservation so only one column is needed for both carriageways.

[Brenley Corner]

In the old days before Highways Agency took control it was down to county preference as to whether a motorway got lit or not. Certainly, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are renowned for lighting up miles of wilderness on their A roads, or at least they were before it became unaffordable.

This was also noticeable with Essex. Most of the M25 in its area was lit from day 1 and many miles of the A13 and A127 were also lit from the 70s onwards.

Tony

[RJDG14]

One section of motorway which seems to have had lighting added in recent years would be a short segment of the M6 at J15 - these didn't used to be there. Ironically the older SON lighting slightly to the north around Keele services has been switched off the last few times I've been driven along there in the dark. They were still there this April but weren't in use.

I know that the M6 used to have a couple of very short lit sections on the Cumbria portion of the road. I think both were besides footbridges, and both segments seem to have been removed in recent years.

These are some stretches of motorway (both already listed and unlisted in this thread) that I'm aware of which have either had lighting removed or permanently turned off in recent years:

*M5 between north of Worcester and roughly the M42 (the stretch nearer Birmingham and around Worcester does still have lighting)
*M4 between Almondsbury and the start of the Second Severn Crossing/Prince of Wales Bridge
*M6 at Keele (lights permanently switched off)
*Two short footbridge segments of the M6 in Cumbria
*M4 at Reading
*Managed stretches of the M25 and M1
*M32 approaching Bristol
*High mast lighting on the M48 at J1 (the ones at J2 remain)

I used to be a little puzzled as to why the M4 had lighting at Reading but not at Swindon, when the Reading stretch didn't feel significantly more urban than the Swindon stretch. Much of the M6 between Warrington and Preston feels quite rural, as does much of the M62, which I believe is/was lit.

There does definitely seem to have been a trend towards removing the lighting on stretches of rural motorway when they have been upgraded to smart/managed motorways - I think this has been the case with the M4 at Reading, parts of the M25 and M1, and the M5 between Worcester and the M42. I find this quite ironic given that even during daytime, smart motorways have been proven to be less safe for breakdowns due to the lack of hard shoulder and too few emergency laybys (this has only had widespread coverage in recent years but I had exactly the same doubts about the safety of them about 10 years ago). The lack of streetlighting on these stretches would likely make it more difficult for a driver to spot a car that has broken down and hasn't had time to make it to one of the emergency laybys.

[MotorwayGuy]

Wasn't there a rule at one point that D4M (and possibly all purpose D4) had to be lit?

[ManomayLR]

Wasn't there a rule at one point that D4M (and possibly all purpose D4) had to be lit?

There was, and it lasted until the advent of ALR.

I still firmly believe that all ALR, DHS and D4M motorways must have continuous lighting.

[scott125]

The M74 from Raith up to Maryville has had its lighting removed.