Will the town of Bouscat be the first municipality in the Bordeaux metropolis to put an end to the cutoff of public lighting between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.? In any case, the community is preparing for this prospect. Not without having taken some steps in advance.
The first of these consisted of switching its entire network to LED lamps, i.e. nearly 2,600 light points, to reduce the amount of the energy bill. The last installments of the program were carried out in 2024 with the assistance of the Departmental Energy and Environment Union of Gironde (Sdeeg).
Two complementary actions facilitated this turnaround, starting with the adoption of remote management which allows the lighting intensity to be programmed in advance. Four particularly busy roads benefit from this: avenues Victor-Hugo, d'Eysines, de Tivoli and the avenues of Boutaut, shared with Bordeaux and Bruges. The principle: we light at 100% at dusk then the intensity lowers in successive stages to reach 5% around 1 a.m. when traffic is reduced. Before the total cutoff between 1 hour and 5 hours.
Remote sensing will continue between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Installed in other streets, remote sensing uses the same logic. The intensity decreases throughout the night, reaching the same waters at 1 a.m. However, there is a significant difference: the lighting turns back on at 60% of its power for a brief moment (around one minute) when a pedestrian, a cyclist or a motorist passes.
According to tests, this gives a subdued light, a halo making it possible to distinguish shadows, obstacles
Until now, the lights-out time slot was respected everywhere [à l’exception de l’avenue de la Libération Charles-de-Gaulle où circule le tram D, NDLR]. From Monday January 13, this will no longer be the case. The Bouscatais will no longer be plunged into complete darkness during this famous 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. time slot. LED lamps will continue to provide 5% of their power. “According to tests, this gives a subdued light, a halo allowing shadows and obstacles to be distinguished,” explains Mayor Patrick Bobet. Another development, remote sensing will continue to operate throughout the night until 5 a.m. Then, as usual, the light intensity of the candelabras will gradually regain strength until dawn.
Two black frames to preserve biodiversity
By removing the nighttime lighting cutoff, the municipality intends to respond to the feeling of insecurity expressed by some residents. However, this new rule will in turn have some notable exceptions: “We will retain two black lines around the Chêneraie park and along the Bouscat woods in order to preserve biodiversity. This will concern Boulevard du Maréchal-Lyautey and Rue du Président-Kennedy,” specifies Patrick Bobet, who claims to have informed the other mayors of Bordeaux Métropole of his decision.
