Minister on Street Lighting
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A T the opening meeting of the Con
ference of the Association of Public Lighting Engineers in London on September 10, Mr. A. flames, the Minister of Transport, referred to the fact that his Ministry has become the central authority responsible for street lighting throughout the country.
It was too early to say on what lines policy will be developed during the coming years but he was impressed with the view that there should be the greatest possible degree of uniformity between lighting standards and that wherever street lighting is provided it should be to such standards. It might, therefore, be necessary to consider placing the responsibility for this work in the hands of larger administrative units. There were various methods of street lighting, but two main factors were the right amount of light and its proper use.
Apart from lighting to ensure the safe use of highways at night, the installation should not detract from the amenities of the roads. The Royal Fine Arts Commission had agreed to examine designs for lamp columns, and commend those considered suitable.
Public lighting is a service of first importance. The public, including the motorist, cyclist and pedestrian, is criti cal of street lighting. Unhappily, the toll of the road is very serious, and about one-fourth of the fatal accidents and one-fifth or all road accidents take place in the hours of darkness, some of which might be avoided if streets were
lighted to a better standard. What money and services can be applied to street-lighting improvements now should be used for the provision of good lighting to a small mileage of road rather than for a larger milqage of mediocre 01 poor service,
Public lighting should, wherever possible, be placed in the hands of a fully qualified lighting engineer.