Ask the Contract Director!
We understand that as members of the public, you probably have a lot of burning questions regarding the roads around Buckinghamshire. Well, we’re giving you the opportunity to get your questions answered by Transport for Buckinghamshire’s Contract Director!
In each blog post in this exciting new series, we will be focusing on a different frequently asked question. This week, we’re answering:
Why haven’t you turned this light back on?
Transport for Buckinghamshire looks after over 29,000 streetlights and 6,000 illuminated bollards. Across the county, we rely on thousands of street lights to illuminate the local paths and footways for us when we are out and about.
LED Replacement Programme
Over the course of 2018/19, the Street Lighting Team has been replacing 3,295 of the ‘old style’ lanterns with LED equipment. These old style lanterns cast an orange light, whilst the new lanterns produce a brighter, white light. Approximately 3,000 of these lanterns have been converted and it is expected that this programme will be complete by the end of March 2019.
However a small amount of the old style lanterns will remain for a number of reasons, whilst remedial actions are taken, including a need for the entire column to be changed or the column base being surrounded by privately owned land.
In addition to this, the team has also completely replaced 344 lanterns which were mounted on electricity poles.
Night Scouting
Whilst you can report street lights that are damaged or broken on ‘Fix My Street’, TfB also has a Night Scouting programme. Members of the Street Lighting team check for outages along the strategic routes across the county, making note of lights that need any work doing to them. Six routes are covered over a three month period, and the scouting occurs on a quarterly basis.
However, if you do spot a damaged or broken street light, please do report it using ‘Fix My Street’ (https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/). Use the search bar to find the road the street light is on, use the marker to pinpoint the area it is in and select the number of the street light that you are reporting. This should be used for faults that do not present an immediate risk, for example, street lights that aren’t working. In an emergency, please call 01296 382416 to report.
Solar powered bollards
Transport for Buckinghamshire’s Street Lighting Team has been working with their manufacturing partners, NAL Ltd and Traffic Management Products (TMP), to begin implementing a new and innovative bollard solution across the county, installing over 100 bollards to date. These new bollards are solar powered and have a number of benefits, including reduced energy costs and no need to connect to underground cables, meaning no issues can be caused by power outages or damaged cables.
Another advantage of these new bollards is that they are also easier to repair – the solar powered bollards use socket mounted equipment. Currently, if a bollard is damaged or broken, it can be complicated to repair or replace them as there is a need for traffic management, or in some cases, road closures. However, if one of the new style bollards is damaged or needs replacing, the equipment can be changed quickly and easily and removes the possibility of live wires being exposed in the event of a road traffic collision.
Sometimes the problem lies with the electricity supplier
Sometimes members of the public report failed lights to us that have stopped working due to an underground electrical supply fault. If this is the case, TfB are not able to repair the fault, because the cables are owned and maintained by the electricity companies for the area. Only they are allowed to carry out repairs to their networks.
TfB works closely with the three electricity companies who have equipment within the county to resolve these issues as and when they’re discovered, but the repairs can take some time and be complex in nature. This is usually why, sometimes, a street light you have reported as being out may be out for some time.
Remember…
Street lights are for lighting public highway and footpaths. Please do not report street lights that are not lighting up privately owned land, for example, gardens and driveways.
