City of Turku plans to switch off street lamps
Road authorities and police fear negative consequences would outweigh any savings
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The coastal city of Turku in South-Western Finland, which earlier advertised itself as a Christmas city with exquisite lights, has decided to save on its energy consumption by switching off streetlights at night.
The idea put forward by the city of Turku Real Estate Department was discussed at a meeting of the city’s Board of Real Estate and Building on Wednesday, but remained on the table until the beginning of January.
According to the proposal, all street lamps in the entire city would be extinguished from April through August.
The banks of the Aura River would also be blacked out at night from August until the end of March. Currently the area is bathed in atmospheric floodlighting. In the winter, every second street lamp would be turned off in those zoning areas where it is technically possible.
All outdoor lighting owned by the City of Turku along the roads maintained by the Finnish Road Administration would be switched off throughout the year.
The City of Turku's Real Estate Department argues its idea by saying that the city has made a cooperative agreement with the Ministry of Trade and Industry on the promotion of energy saving.
The outdoor lighting in the city costs EUR 1 million, and the aggregate number of lamps is 28,000.
Actually, Turku has already implemented certain energy saving measures since the early 1990s, thus saving around EUR 97,000 annually.
However, the Turku Road Region would like the city to drop the savings, as the extinguishing of the outdoor lighting tends to weaken traffic safety and increase general insecurity.
One accident with bodily injury alone costs the society about EUR 471,000, according to the Road Region. Consequently, the savings would be rather nominal, as about 15 to 20 per cent of the costs following accidents are transferred back to municipalities. In the case of a fatality on the roads as a result of poor lighting, the costs would far outweigh any financial benefit from the reduced energy bill.
The police do not regard the reduction in lighting as advisable, either, as more crimes occur in poorly lit or dark areas than in areas which are well-lit.
In order that public order and safety could be guaranteed, outdoor lighting should be switched on at least during events drawing large crowds.
One case in point is the New Year's Eve celebrations along the river bank, which bring out a great many young people onto the streets.
Helsingin Sanomat
