Lincoln universities request street lighting remains on overnight for student’s safety

The University of Lincoln’s Student Union is supporting a campaign to keep every second street lamp in Lincoln switched on at night.

The campaign, led by Lincoln MP Karl McCartney and started at the request of local universities, aims to make the city safer for students and residents staying out late at night who at the moment are scared to walk home alone after dark, BBC reports.

Mr McCartney said that “Lincoln is returning to being a 24 hour city and it is not just students who are out late at night, but also various residents too. It is one of the government’s priorities to ensure that both women, girls, men, and boys are safe at night. This is in support of requests from the local universities”

While Mr Fenwick explained that parts of the city centre and some university accommodations are already well lit overnight, the Students Union are still concerned about student safety in other parts of the city and students have already been advocating for better safety at night though campaigns such as the Reclaim the Night March earlier this year.

The Student Union’s vice president for wellbeing, Zuzanna Romanska, explained how students have been advocating for keeping streets lit for years:

“It was definitely a surprise to see street lighting becoming a focal point in Karl McCartney’s campaign” she said.

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“Although it is positive to see this being addressed by someone in a position of power, I cannot help but feel sceptical about the timing of his recent statements as well as any tangible actions this campaign may bring. My predecessors and I addressed student feeling of safety and street lighting to county council time and time again. The response is never the one that would acknowledge student feedback or student perspective on safety in the city.

“All students are asking for is to keep streetlights on for longer so we can go back home safely, whether it’s from a night out, from a late study session in the library or from a long shift at work. All students are asking for is for their safety to be taken seriously.”

Despite the suggestion, the head of highways at Lincolnshire County Council, Richard Fenwick, has said they “haven’t got any pans to make any sweeping changes” to street lighting policy, saying any changes be considered at the request of Lincolnshire police.

A statement from Lincolnshire Police said that street lighting at night “does not have an impact on crime levels” but “that people feeling safe when traveling through Lincoln at any time of day or night” was a top priority.

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