More and more people work until late in the evening. Moreover, in the autumn-winter season it is already dark in the afternoon. As we know, the daytime or evening cannot be an obstacle to going to a restaurant or returning safely from work. Street lighting is certainly important. A reasonable question arises - who is responsible for repairing street lighting in the event of a failure?
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Who is responsible for repairing street lighting?
Well-chosen street lighting is effective and also almost failure-free. Lighting poles work very well. But what to do in a situation when they are destroyed or damaged? It is worth knowing that the Municipal Roads Authority is responsible for lighting roads in the city or village.
This is where you should report potential faults. If you live in a village, you should of course report the fault to the commune office. You can also call the energy emergency service, which should notify the appropriate services. If the street poles are located in a gated community, you should know that the housing cooperative is responsible for the repair.
Failures can also be reported to the mayor or public local government, as well as other entities responsible for maintaining safety. This applies to municipal road lighting. In many cases, all types of failures and defects can be reported to the Roads Authority or the Municipal Services Department of the City Office.
Can the city turn off street lights?
Certainly, you can often notice that the lighting in the streets or even the city center is limited. There are also situations where the power of the lighting leaves much to be desired. Many cities or municipalities decide to turn off the lighting or reduce the power in order to reduce the consumption of electricity, as well as save money.
A perfect example of this is the situation when one of the communes decided to temporarily turn off some of the street lighting. As it turns out, this was a completely illegal action, because lighting roads or urban areas is mandatory and cannot be waived. Interestingly, in 2022, a law was introduced under which all public finance sector entities are obliged to reduce energy consumption by 10%. It was easiest for the city authorities to introduce restrictions on street lighting.
According to the Supreme Court, lighting of roads, squares, and streets located within the commune is mandatory. Opinions are divided on whether, for example, lamps should be on all night long. Many residents of various Polish cities work shifts, which means that they often set off to work at night. Switching off the lights is therefore a problem for them and reduces their sense of security.
Fortunately, the court's decision clearly states that the commune cannot abandon lighting even at night. However, the situation is slightly different when the authorities decide to turn off every second lamp. Although the truth is that the best solution is to use energy-efficient lighting.
The most common causes of street lighting failure
Well-chosen lighting improves the comfort of residents, but also their safety. Steel lighting poles , which are resistant to mechanical damage, certainly work very well, but even the best poles will not prevent potential failures. What causes lighting failure? There are actually many factors.
The most common reasons include a lack of continuity in the power supply. Although interruptions are indeed very rare, it may turn out that due to a failure caused by strong wind, it is necessary to turn off the power. It should not be forgotten that lighting failures are often caused by physical damage to the lamp.
It is not just about damage caused by acts of vandalism, although that also happens, but also, for example, damage caused by an accident, such as a car hit. Lightning also causes street lighting failures. Of course, it may turn out that a street lighting failure is simply caused by a burnt-out bulb.
City authorities are obliged to carry out repairs as soon as possible, because the consequence of damaging the lighting is not only worse visibility in street traffic, but also a deterioration in road safety. The risk of an accident then increases significantly. Therefore, it should be remembered that cities or villages are obliged to provide lighting to residents.