Lights out on roads to save CO2

Paris to reduce street lighting on 130km of autoroute to cut costs and reduce CO2 emissions

Published Modified

MOTORWAYS around Paris will have their lights turned off in the coming days to save on costs and reduce CO2 emissions.

It is only the second time that a French authority has turned off the street lighting on a motorway.

The Ile-de-France region wants to cut the level of lighting on main roads including motorways by half.

Previously the Nord-pas-de-Calais in 2007 region switched off lighting on the A16 route to Belgium but the state and local authority have yet to decide how to split the savings.

According to road monitors the DIRIF, the number of accidents dropped by 30% as a result of the change.

“Cars go slower and the drivers are more aware,” said a spokesman for the DIRIF.

Vinceres - Fotolia.com

archive

archive