Debate, Edge-Norway | Road lights on the outskirts – unimportant for politicians who don’t live there themselves?

“Dear” position politicians in Bodø municipality and Nordland county municipality.

Yes, what should one say on an otherwise bright and pleasant spring day, when it is also blackout times around the district…….? How should one express oneself in order to be heard?

It must therefore be both a Dear beautiful vein, – and a Ka in H …, – have you completely lost perspective on the things that are fundamentally important, and mean something in everyday life for the residents’ safety and well-being?

Or are we going under the perspective radar here on the outskirts?

Everything in its time, there is something called, and now the time has come to darken the districts, after 50 years

with road lights…, – to save money for other purposes. It has come to the point where the choice has come down to depriving the fringe residents of this “luxury”, – surely it can’t be that careful out there…

Provoked to the point, it is tempting to ask;

But what about the housing estate roads in central Bodø, and the city center in general. Isn’t it tempting to be able to save on blacking out public road lights there too, when you are so frantically looking for money?

– Or will it be too unsafe and irresponsible to think such thoughts?

Not even here on the outskirts did we in our wildest imaginations think that we would have to think about blacking out, after 50 years of road lighting.

With such actions from those in power, there is not much goodwill going on, so it can at best seem as if today’s politicians do not understand what is their primary task, namely to facilitate as best they can so that the citizens have the best possible living situation and infrastructure where they live.

– And then safety is undoubtedly an important part of this picture.

Or do you perhaps think that it has suddenly become unnecessary to have road lights these days, because you just sit indoors in the dark, and press all possible keyboards and remote controls?

Bad joke aside, – you see on social media that people are worried and pissed off when they now realize or see the seriousness, and many more are going to join this line, – when it seems to be too late.

For those of us who “have the shoes on” and are affected by this, have so far not come forward with arguments that the traffic lights give us security here in the outlying villages where we live. They are thus important in everyday life in winter.

And then it probably won’t be enough to turn off the lights, – but a practical consequence of this will be that this petty decision will be hard to reverse, if you come up with better ideas later…

This is because the removal of the poles, – i.e. the practical foundation for the road lighting – must be included in the decision to darken.

The whole thing is nothing less than shameful, – can almost be compared to the government’s no to the war sailors, to take a derailment… However, through blackouts, we are, in a way, put back to the wartime and the next few years after that, until the politicians back then found out that road lighting was so important that they chose to prioritize and publicly finance this safety-giving asset.

So to those of you who have influence, Mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, – you who want to have an open and good dialogue with the citizens, – you can consider this message as an urgent visit to your office!

And you, county council leader Svein Eggesvik, who can influence county municipal allocations:

– Please use creativity and solution-oriented cooperation to preserve the road lights, so that we don’t have to go back to the past!

Now it is urgent to stop, find a solution, and reverse this petty decision!

– It’s all very well with free ferries (also for tourists) and reduced property tax, and individual experiences of culture, but that old, well-established, primary and not least important goods should be taken from the outlying villages, and indirectly help to finance e.g. this latter is not “fair”!

– It is abdicating responsibility for the residents on the outskirts.

In the absence of information from the municipality, it is stated in BodøNu (2022) that it costs NOK 1.35 million to keep the road lights along the county roads and national roads within Bodø municipality, in operation as before.

The amount seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and I urge you politicians to be constructive and provide this money, – yes, even if this has to affect us residents in the wallet in one way or another. – Because this is more important than much else we spend money on.