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York's street lights may turn green as part of national emission-reducing scheme

8:00am Saturday 6th March 2010 in


A QUEST to make York more environmentally-friendly could see hundreds of street lights replaced as council chiefs sign up to a national emission-reducing scheme.

City of York Council has joined the UK-wide 10:10 campaign, which aims to encourage businesses, education establishments and other organisations to cut their CO2 emissions over the next year.

This will mean the authority reducing its carbon dioxide output by about 1,220 tonnes between April this year and March 2011, excluding the emissions produced by schools and outsourced services.

Proposed projects for reaching this target include replacing 1,300 mercury vapour lights with modern alternatives, installing 50 lights with lower wattage bulbs, using solar panels to power 50 bollards and signs and substituting sodium lights with fluorescent lanterns.

The council also plans to drive home the 10:10 message to staff by encouraging them to turn down heating levels and switching off computers when not in use. Other initiatives include the use of a biomass boiler to power the new Energise swimming pool at the former Oaklands Sports Centre and supporting residents and businesses to produce less CO2.

The ultimate plan is for the council’s emission levels to be reduced by a quarter by 2013, and for York as a whole to show a 40 per cent drop in CO2 by 2020.

Comments(11)

pedalling paul says...
8:15am Sat 6 Mar 10

Hope the traffic lights don't all turn green at the same time.....?

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Kynnersley says...
9:56am Sat 6 Mar 10

And how much extra CO2 is going to be created by manufacturing lights to replace serviceable lights? Please can we have the full picture not just the little bit at the end.

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Fred the Shred says...
10:28am Sat 6 Mar 10

Doesn't matter what colour the traffic lights are as far a cyclists are concerned - be that just ignore them or divert via footpaths.

Agree too that there need to be a total life time analysis carried out with all the eco schemes - the total cost of energy and resources to build and replace current items and dispose of the old items against the energy saved. I'm sure in many cases the payback period means that other alternatives would have a better impact.

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sheps lad says...
12:22pm Sat 6 Mar 10

Save a few bob on "energy saving" lights and increase the floodlighting of buildings for the tourists. You know it makes sense!!

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yorknights says...
12:50pm Sat 6 Mar 10

More buildings SHOULD be floodlit--and not just one badly directed spotlight either!The city should lighten up and LIVEN UP!!!Low energy lights with this council are used to moralise us.Of course most of us agree with them--but do not let the enjoyment of life in the city be a casualty of the unimaginative green moralists--lets have some proper green thinking and doing rather than this pompous back slapping we get here all the time!More street lights NOW!!

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King Edward says...
1:22pm Sat 6 Mar 10

You can plunge the city into darkness for me. That would save money.

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Opinion8ed says...
2:45pm Sat 6 Mar 10

What I don't understand is why more traffic lights aren't made part-time. The new lights the Wigginton junction will be a godsend at rush hour, but during the day won't really be needed and will probably slow journey times down. Surely then turning them off is a win-win situation? The same could possibly be said for the Hopgrove lights and many others. Any comments anyone?

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humpty numpty says...
4:31pm Sat 6 Mar 10

can CYC fit striped or single coloured bulbs, streets will look lovely awash in green/blue/red etc, just a thought. before CYC act on this wonderful idea, do not use black ones.

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euroinforitnow says...
5:53pm Sat 6 Mar 10

It might be greener to turn off a few lights late at night. It seems ridiculous to leave lights on in backstreets in the small hours. Burglars and muggers would have to carry torches.

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fatima blush says...
7:47am Mon 8 Mar 10

Green lights, Ann Reid to blame.

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evelyn_trent says...
12:12pm Mon 8 Mar 10

It's the ridiculous number of lamp-posts that annoys me. Has anyone ever counted how many there are at places like Layerthorpe Bridge or is CoYC using it as a showroom?

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