A fight for light: Almost 50 streetlamps don't work in Glasgow town
Tenant's union, Living Rent, is campaigning to have almost 50 streetlights in Govanhill repaired.
Campaigners are telling Clyde News darkness is not just a problem in parks anymore - as it is discovered almost 50 streetlamps in Govanhill are broken.
It comes as Radio Clyde continues to campaign to ensure Glasgow's parks are well-lit.
Last year Glasgow City Council agreed to put lighting in three parks at the beginning of 2025 following the success of our Light the Way campaign.
But the tenant's union, Living Rent, says the issue of poor visibility has now spread into residential areas of Glasgow.
READ MORE: #LightTheWay: Clyde News launches park lighting campaign
Living Rent members from Govanhill took action outside the offices of Glasgow City Council to demand the council commit to streetlight repairs in Govanhill.
In November 2022, Living Rent Govanhill started a campaign to fix the broken street lights when their members counted 48 broken lights in the area, leaving some street pitch black in the depths of winter.
After launching their campaign, they claim the local authority has fixed 18 of the reported broken streetlights.
However, Living Rent claims 29 remain broken and since then, have found an additional 18 broken lights.
'Govanhill deserves better'
Matthew Johnstone from Living Rent says that street lights are not just a safety issue, but one of accessibility and pride in our local communities.
He said: "The issue with street lighting does now go beyond the like of dark parks.
"There are so many residents in Govanhill, you can't just have Pollokshaws Road and Victoria Road lit up, because people need to get from A to B.
"If they are going from A to B and there is not any adequate lighting, people are going to feel a lot more unsafe and they're not going to feel proud of the area they live in.
"Govanhill just deserves better and the Council really needs to step up."
READ MORE: Light the Way: Three parks WILL have lighting installed
'We aim to have repairs completed in 24 hours'
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Street lighting in Govanhill has been the subject of recent improvement works with £500,000 invested in installing 140 new lighting columns.
“Govanhill also receives regular maintenance on older lighting columns and repairs are on-going in the area.
“Repairs are prioritised on a risk assessed basis and for priority issues, such as larger sections of faulty lamps or lamps that are causing a danger to the public, we will aim to have repairs completed within 24 hours
“We undertake regular checks on the city’s infrastructure, but reports from the public have a vital role in directing our efforts to where faults emerge across the city’s 74,000 lighting columns.
“If a faulty street lamp is identified then the quickest way for the issue to be dealt with is to report the incident via our website, through the MyGlasgow phone app or by calling the RALF hotline as soon as the fault is identified.”
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