Martin St residents ask for better lighting
A street full of residents too frightened to go out in the dark any more have petitioned for street light improvements.
The residents of Palmerston North’s Martin St said the change to LED street lights had left stretches of the street in darkness.
They have asked the city council to fix the problem, and a suggestion to prune some street trees will be considered.
Neighbourhood Support group leader Midge Janssen said people used to walk from their homes to the supermarket just around the corner in the evenings, but many would not do that after dark any more.
‘‘That goes for young and old, men and women.
‘‘I was not aware there was a problem before the changeover. I was not apprehensive walking the length of the street before.’’
Janssen said while the light from the traditional street lights had spread along the street, the new LED lights were focused downwards to create pools of light, which did not join up.
In some cases, street trees stopped the light from filtering down to the footpath.
The poor lighting created the risk of falls, vehicle accidents, and of pedestrians not being seen by vehicles.
Residents had also seen people cycling or walking slowly down the street looking down driveways, and were worried they could become victims of crime or violence.
Cr Rachel Bowen said the first step could be to carry out some ‘‘judicious pruning’’ of the street’s trees.
She said Martin St was one of the 16 per cent of the city’s neighbourhood streets that did not comply with lighting standards even before the switch to LED.
Council staff were working on a report for councillors on what improvements were needed.
Councillors Leonie Hapeta and Susan Baty said they did not think Martin St should get priority treatment before there were proposals for fixing all the other streets as well.