A call has been made for a rethink of plans to switch off streetlights along a stretch of road notorious for crashes. Norfolk County Council made the decision to switch off about 1,000 lights across the county to save £200,000 and cut carbon emissions by 76 tonnes a year. Street lights on a Norfolk road notorious for car crashes will be turned off under a council’s plans to cut carbon emissions. Residents fear the removal of lighting from a section of the B1145 near King’s Lynn, which has a series of hidden dips, will endanger motorists. Two serious accidents on the road have happened at night in the past six months, with a number of deaths there in recent years. Norfolk County council has said it has no safety concerns about the plans, which it previously said would be “significantly contributing” towards its plans to create “a net zero Norfolk”.
The Conservative-run authority wants to switch off 1,000 of the county’s 50,000 street lights to save up to £200,000 and cut annual carbon emissions by 76 tonnes a year. But there are concerns that the proposal – part of wider cuts worth £42 million – could have fatal consequences.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, said: “There is a huge irony that, while councils will pour millions of pounds into traffic calming schemes, proclaiming their road safety value, they will switch off street lights and turn the same roads into potential overnight death traps.
“We would urge local authorities to think twice before switching off the lights, particularly on roads with poor road safety or physical safety records.”
BBC: ‘Decision to switch off about 1,000 lights across the county’ made to ‘cut carbon emissions by 76 tonnes a year’ – A call has been made for a rethink of plans to switch off streetlights along a stretch of road notorious for crashes. Norfolk County Council made the decision to switch off about 1,000 lights across the county to save £200,000 and cut carbon emissions by 76 tonnes a year. … Council member Alexandra Kemp said turning off the lights would put drivers at risk. … But Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, stood by the plans and said all proposed locations would be risk-assessed with Norfolk Police.
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