Residents of modern cities quite often face a complete or partial lack of street lighting. This issue is especially relevant in the winter and transitional periods of the year. Non-working lights impair visibility in the yard, which can be dangerous for residents and passers-by.
To find a solution in this situation, consider who is responsible for street lighting in the city and where to complain in this case. A city dweller, armed with the necessary information, will be able to react correctly if there is no light on the street and contact the appropriate authority to solve the problem.
Peculiarities
The main purpose of urban street lighting is to ensure the safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians. This category includes lighting of various territorial areas of the city, including squares, overpasses, bridges, tunnels, parking lots, vehicle parking, roadways and pedestrian paths.
ATTENTION! Lanterns located above entrance doors and on the facade of residential buildings do not belong to street lighting.
Lighting, like any service, must be provided in compliance with established norms, standards and requirements. In the city, at least 80% of the length of streets must be illuminated.
The level of lighting in a certain area depends on the intensity of vehicle traffic, infrastructure development, population density in the area, energy efficiency and local budget capabilities.
Central streets and boulevards should be illuminated much better than areas located on the outskirts of the city.
Street lighting is turned on and off strictly according to a schedule, which may differ depending on the extent and population density in the locality. In different cities, this schedule may be the same or radically different. Regardless of this, lighting devices turn on and off at different times - the longer the daylight hours, the later they light up.
If there is snow, rain, snow or fog outside, street lighting is turned on earlier and turned off later than scheduled with a difference of 15 minutes.
Types of pillars and the order of their installation
In order for the level of light to be sufficient for the designated area, it is necessary to install the lamps at a certain height. Special supports made from different materials are designed for this:
- Tree. Mainly coniferous species are suitable for this. The cost of such poles is low, they are light in weight and easy to install. They are also quite safe in emergency situations. However, they are not durable and require treatment against rotting.
- Concrete. Their price is also low, easy to use and have a long service life. However, groundwater flow is undesirable near such supports.
- Reinforced concrete. This type of support is durable, not subject to corrosion, and inexpensive. But it requires high installation and maintenance costs.
- Metal (aluminum or steel) . Although the price of such poles is quite high, they are strong and durable.
When installing supports, it is important to pay attention to the foundation. The depth for lawn installation cannot be less than 80 cm. For other types of installation, the depth should not be less than 160 cm.
Other requirements include:
- the gap between the supports must be at least 60 cm;
- installation of supports in one row;
- the supports are arranged in two rows in a checkerboard or rectangular pattern.
The distance from the road curb is affected by traffic intensity:
- if there are no trucks on the roads - 0.3 m;
- secondary roads – 0.6 m;
- highways – 1 m.
Who is responsible
According to Federal Law No. 131, municipal (local) authorities or state bodies are responsible for the proper lighting of boulevards, streets, roads, bridges, industrial zones, parks and courtyards. They enter into an agreement with the energy supply companies under which the city streets are illuminated.
Commercial organizations are responsible for maintaining the lights installed within the city in working order and for maintaining the lighting equipment. This refers to the electrical grid or local energy supply companies with which the contract was concluded. The local city administration must control the activities of commercial enterprises.
IMPORTANT! In each locality of Russia, the problem of faulty lamps is considered individually.
Contact the administration
If there is no response, then you need to contact the city administration directly, since it has an agreement with the electrical networks serving each district. They will take action by contacting the power company, who will have to evaluate the condition of the lighting fixture and make specific repairs. An appeal in the form of a collective or private complaint with signatures is carried out in the form of a regular application in any form and is submitted to the local Administration of a certain municipal body.
In the text of the appeal, it is important to indicate the following questions to the local administration:
- Which organization is responsible for maintaining lighting fixtures on site?
- As the name of the customer under the contract with this organization
- Who is responsible for maintaining lighting at the required level?
Regarding the issue of insufficient street lighting, you should contact the Management Company by writing an application individually or collectively using the same template. The main thing is to write the full name of each applicant, signature and address of his residence. It is important to understand that the Management Company is directly responsible for the life and health of citizens and it is we who should point out the shortcomings to it, since we have a direct interest in this.
In a situation where there is a complete lack of light in your yard, you must contact the local administration, guided by the Federal Law of October 6, 2003 No. 131-F3 “On the general principles of organizing local government in the Russian Federation,” obliging local governments to organize street lighting properly. Which is also regulated by GOST regarding the procedure for organizing lighting, where all standards are prescribed. After completing and sending the application, the response should arrive within seven working days to a month.
Also, to understand the essence of the problem, building codes and regulations are presented here.
Lighting of architectural objects and cultural monuments is a mandatory measure when organizing a street lighting system.
Illumination of main and secondary roads is carried out taking into account the type of road surface and its reflective properties.
Each street provides a certain degree of horizontal illumination. For example:
- for wide roads this parameter corresponds to 20 lk,
- regional roads are illuminated within 15 lk,
- for local streets 4-6 lux is enough.
If you receive a refusal, you can file a complaint with the local organization responsible for maintaining street lighting. Very often refusals are justified by insufficient funding, but these explanations do not make things any better.
Your next step may be to contact the court or prosecutor's office at your place of residence. It is advisable to provide a photo of the area where there is no light and a written (or digital) refusal from the Administration responsible for street lighting.
Control
According to Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 131-FZ, all streets, roads, boulevards, bridges, as well as the territories of industrial enterprises, utility organizations, residential neighborhoods, neighborhoods and houses are under the control of local governments.
The organization of proper lighting at the above-mentioned objects is a task of local importance. According to Article 16 of the Russian Federation, the administration of the city district must be responsible for the schedule, which indicates the procedure for lighting objects at night. But property owners must maintain lighting.
The lighting of the city territory is carried out by energy supply organizations - city electrical networks. They belong to commercial organizations. Electricity networks provide electricity supply services by previously concluding an agreement with the owners of the facilities, local administration, individuals or legal entities.
Specialized companies with which the local administration has entered into an agreement must carry out the construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of networks and power lines. If you have received a refusal from local authorities to solve the problem that has arisen, you can file an application with the court.
ATTENTION! In the application that you submit to the court, you must indicate the fact of failure to fulfill direct responsibilities and inaction of local government bodies.
Lighting in villages and rural settlements
In rural life, the issue of illumination of the territory is almost always acute. Even if there are a sufficient number of devices, as a rule, they do not light up at night or are turned on only for a few hours. SNiP 05/23/95 regulates the lighting standards for village squares, according to which at least 8/10 of the territory must be illuminated. The only exceptions are very small settlements, where the standard establishes the presence of two street lights: at the entrance and exit.
Financing for rural areas is provided by the Federal Treasury. The money is distributed by the administration, which makes decisions about the installation and operation of the lighting. The local municipality, according to Law No. 131-FZ, is responsible for the maintenance and provision of lighting.
However, there is always not enough money; there is nothing to pay energy sales departments for repairs or other technical work. Therefore, today the problem of lighting in rural areas is still not solved, however, like many other issues of the development of villages and agriculture in general.
No light in the yard
If there is no lighting in the courtyard area, citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to contact the local administration. We must be guided by Federal Law of the Russian Federation N 131-FZ, which states that the organization of street lighting should be handled by local governments. Requirements for the procedure for organizing lighting are enshrined in GOST.
If there is no light in the yard, you need to complain to the local government - the administration of the municipality. They are authorized to resolve issues of local importance, including their responsibilities to maintain lighting on the streets and courtyards of the city.
The complaint must refer to paragraph 4 of Article 14 of Federal Law No. 131-FZ, which contains a list of responsibilities of local government bodies. This list includes the provision of reliable energy supply to the population. It is better if the complaint is collective; for this, more than 20 signatures of residents of the building must be attached to it. The answer should come within a month.
ATTENTION! In case of refusal, a citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to file a claim in court, indicating the fact of failure of local government bodies to fulfill their direct duties.
You should not sue authorities because of 2-3 non-working light bulbs in streetlights . It is recommended to take drastic measures if there is no light at all in the yard or the lighting equipment is faulty, despite the fact that it is not repaired.
If you need to replace 1-3 light bulbs, you can contact the Municipal Services Committee of the Administration. They can ensure that the relevant utility organizations resolve the problem.
Villages and towns
The budgets of villages and small towns do not always adequately finance street lighting. Installing lights near every road is quite expensive. Every year, a plan is drawn up to supply street lights and local authorities review it according to the budget.
IMPORTANT! There are certain places where the installation of lights is mandatory, such as road intersections, where the likelihood of accidents is high, as well as educational institutions and administration buildings.
The district department of Energosbyt is responsible for maintenance, but control over the implementation of its duties is entrusted to the local municipality. The right decision would be to contact them orally, in writing (by filing a complaint) or simply by calling.
If there is no lighting along the street or in the courtyard of a residential building, you should contact the relevant authorities with this issue. However, you should not hope for a quick solution to the problem, since it cannot be solved with lightning speed.
The answer to the question of where to complain if there is no lighting on the streets will depend on the territory in question.
The lights in the city are not on
Under the right operating conditions, the lamp in a street lamp can last at least 1.5 years. In certain regions of the Russian Federation, lighting may be used at different intensities due to weather or geographical conditions.
If the lamps are turned on frequently, they may become unusable faster, but if used less frequently, they can last up to 4 years.
If the lamps in the streetlights have burned out or there is not enough lighting on your street, you need to take action. This will allow you to avoid dangerous situations - an increase in the number of thefts, accidents and cases of injury to passers-by in this area.
If the street lamp does not light, you must contact the local municipal administration. The best option is to file a collective written complaint.
Types of outdoor lighting lamps and advantages of LED lamps
Various lamps are used in street lighting:
- mercury;
- sodium;
- metal halide lamps;
- LED
In recent years, more and more city streets are filled with LED lights. A number of undeniable advantages of lamps of this type allow zealous and wise officials to turn a blind eye to the rather high cost. Distinctive features of LED street fixtures are:
- durability;
- strength;
- high resistance to vibration, humidity, temperature changes, dust;
- efficiency;
- emission of even and bright light that does not blind drivers and pedestrians.
Where and how to contact
Do city residents who are dissatisfied with the quality of street lighting know where to complain that commercial organizations are not fulfilling their duties in good faith? The solution to the problem depends on the citizens’ knowledge of their rights and laws, since if lamps near the house break down and there are no street lights, they must contact different authorities.
City residents, depending on the identified problem, have several options to correct the situation. They can contact the following organizations:
- City Housing and Public Utilities Service . The organization operates and maintains street lighting networks, including turning street lights on and off.
- City administration or executive committee . The organization is responsible for strict compliance with the standards and requirements established for the organization of high-quality street lighting.
Standards and requirements
To have an idea of how to defend your rights in the event of a lack of lighting, you need to understand how street lighting is arranged. The main points of SNiP rules and building codes are:
- monuments and architectural objects must be illuminated;
- lighting of main and secondary roads is carried out taking into account the type of road surface and its ability to reflect light;
- For each individual object, a specific level of horizontal illumination is provided, so for highways this value corresponds to 20 lux, for regional roads - 15 lux, for streets 4-6 lux is enough.
