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Will big blackout make our Path more perilous?
Crash in Gravel Path, Berkhamsted
PEOPLE who live on a narrow, hillside road have had mixed reactions to a plan to switch its streetlights off between midnight and 6am.
The Gravel Path plan will go ahead unless Herts county councillor Ian Reay can help get the road out of the group’s plans for Berkhamsted.
From next month, many streetlights in the town will be switched off to save cash and cut CO2 emissions.
A map of all of the affected roads has been published on www.berkhamsted.gov.uk.
Dr Reay says people have until Friday to email him at Ian.Reay@hertscc.gov.uk to suggest changes to the map.
Michael Locke, co-ordinator of the Safer Gravel Path Action Group, said: “The history shows people have driven into houses and walls and gardens on this road.
“Drivers need the lights to show them how it bends and gets narrower.”
In 2008, a toddler was taken to hospital after a collision between a car and a bus, and last month a car flipped onto its roof on the street.
But Michael’s wife Christine said: “I think the lights should go off.
“Most of the accidents happen during daylight hours, anyway.”
Neighbour Jo Stretton said: “It is a very, very dangerous road and the main route into Berkhamsted from the north. I think it needs to be lit for that reason alone.”
Andy Parsons, 40, said: “Once you get down to the bottom there are no lights for 200 or 300 metres anyway.
“I walk to work and come home in the dark as it is.”
Jeannette Groom walks home from dinner parties after midnight and does not want to be penalised for this.
She said: “It is a scary and frightening road to walk on anyway, and that would be extremely difficult without streetlights.”
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
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greenspan
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 10:58 AM"Michael Locke, co-ordinator of the Safer Gravel Path Action Group, said: “The history shows people have driven into houses and walls and gardens on this road. “Drivers need the lights to show them how it bends and gets narrower.”" Er. most cars these days have headlights built into the vehicle to show drivers how the roads bend and get narrower when it is dark..... people driving into walls, houses and gardens is because they drive too fast and not defensively - such accidents also happen during the day, which proves the point. A few streetlights makes no difference. If there's not enough light, SLOW DOWN !
fredkarno
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 01:48 PMMy allowing the county council to save money, we can help the Chinese etc. export their carbon foot by buying all the new LED torches. The batteries even last longer than the little ones we used to have to use before all this new fangled electric lighting system was introduced in the interest of personal safety and doing away with the little man who wound up the clocks and acted as an alarm clock for some residents. Most of Hemel had this new system as the new town was built, but here in damp and dark Berkhamsted, I don't suppose our esteemed County Councillor remembers how we used to suffer.
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