Why turn off the light all night in Ifs?
By Gregory Maucorps
Published on
A experimentation will be assigned to Yes, near Caen (Calvados). From Tuesday, April 19, 2022, thelighting public serums to extinguish the night in the streets of the city between 1:15 a.m. and 5 a.m. A decision which follows in particular the explosion of the energy cost in 2022.
To face this increase, either one had the sources of economy, or one increased the taxes. And we didn’t want to raise taxes! We wondered how we will manage to absorb this additional expense.
“There is no reason to light up one district and not another”
This year, the cost of public lighting (which represents a third of the city’s overall bill) jumped by +165% in Ifs, ie an additional bill of approximately €45,000.
Currently, the City of Ifs could reduce the light intensity of its public lighting during the night on certain places technically allowing it. “We are not the only city affected by this energy crisis, it is a real subject for the future”, continues Michel Patard-Legendre.
The municipality has therefore opted for the extinction of the lighting in the streets at night, “at hours that are not clearly indicated”. The time slots of 1h15 and 5h correspond to public transport timetables. “We based ourselves on the hours of the tram, with the last one at 12:45 a.m. to give people time to get home and the resumption at 5 a.m. for the same reasons, for those who work early”.
It will be on all the territory ifois. “There is no reason for such a district to be lit and not another”.
“Mindsets are changing”
A second factor prompted the mayor of Ifs to try this experiment: light pollution. “The economic aspect is important of course on our constrained budgets, but the biodiversity aspect is also important, because we know that this light pollution has an impact such as the extension of wind turbines”.
However, during the previous mandate, the question of extinction had arisen and the ifois municipal council had answered “no”.
It’s true, there was some reluctance, but mentalities are changing. We were less aware of sustainable development, but we became aware of global warming, for example. There is also the fear of crime, but we don’t have a lot of crime in Ifs. Police and fire departments were consulted. We also based ourselves on the experience carried out in Mondeville. These are unpredictable times. We must limit apprehensions. It will be a change of habit, but the project is rather well received.
A 6 month experiment
In total, switching off public lighting at night saves nearly €45,000 for a full year, according to initial estimates. One way to counter the soaring cost of energy in the municipality. The experiment will be introduced “until next fall”, ie over six months, before taking stock.
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