Par
Guillaume Voisenet
Published on
Oct 15, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.
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In order to fight against light pollution and its effects on biodiversity but also for economic reasons, the municipality of Andelys (Your) with the help of the Environmental Development Council (CDE) introduced the switching off of public lighting at night.
45% of respondents dissatisfied
As a preamble, Christian Leprovostthe president of the CDE, recalled:
“The consequences of artificial night light are threefold: on wildlife, desynchronization of the animals’ biological clock; on flora in terms of pollination; on human health. At the same time, rising energy costs required action. »
After 18 months of experimentation in three distinct zones, a public consultation was organized from August 27 to September 7, 2024.
It collected 604 responses. This survey reveals that opinion is divided but dissatisfaction prevails with a rate of 45% while 31% say they are satisfied. The remaining 24% are mixed.
The feeling of insecurity predominates
73% of dissatisfied people highlight a feeling of insecurity and then difficulties in getting around on foot or by car.
The most dissatisfied people are among those aged 18-25 (73%), those aged 26-45 (48%) and those aged 61 and over (34%).
Regarding the feeling of insecurity, Christian Leprovost said:
“Last June, we questioned the Andelys gendarmerie who confirmed that they had not recorded an increase in burglaries, incivility and assaults. 85% of burglaries take place during the day. »
Regarding this remark that we regularly hear that it would be more dangerous to drive by car, the president of the CDE responded: “It is exactly the opposite because when there is no more light, we have tendency to drive slower, we are more careful and bodily accidents are less serious. »
116,000 euros in savings in 2023
Respondents also highlighted specific security points:
- protect pedestrian crossings
- secure the surroundings of nightlife venues, whether associative, sporting or cultural, promote access and egress
- match switch-off times with usage
- modernize public lighting based on technological developments.
Switching off public lighting at night allowed the community to save 116,000 euros in 2023.
Frédéric Duchéthe mayor, wanted part of these savings to be used to modernize electrical cabinets and eliminate sodium lamps in the city.
“We worked on this file on all levels, saying to ourselves that we could use devices that allow lighting with our smartphone. Naively, I thought that with a tablet it was possible to adjust the lighting. It is clear that we are still in the 60s when it comes to public lighting. You have to go to each cabinet to adjust manually and there are as many cabinets as there are streets. »
Go back one hour
The mayor rejected the possibility of going back “because it would not be good for the planet or for the municipal budget”.
He therefore proposed to postpone the time for switching off public lighting.
The light will turn off at midnight instead of 11 p.m. on Place Nicolas-Poussin and at Petit-Andely.
In neighborhoods and hamlets, lights will be extinguished at 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m..
On the other hand, no change in the Marguerite activity zone. These measures will come into force from Tuesday October 15. Time to reprogram all the electrical cabinets across the city.
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