[oldcynic]

My perspective just from being around a good while is savings from LED lighting have been more than offset by excessive gratuitous use of lighting. Dramatically so.

No one can build anything at all, even a few paving slabs, without adding "lighting as a feature". Often with colour or brightness cycling effects. This is usually broken a couple of years later.

Once businesses turned lights off outside business hours and left a little security lighting. Now everyone lights up the window, sign, and usually car-park, to daylight levels. Even solicitors, and doctor's surgeries. Larger franchises especially annoy by adding a 30' pole with a sign on top. With illumination more suited to anti-aircraft searchlights. It's become an arms race.

As a kid, street lights were turned off late at night. I think 2 in 3, but it's a distant memory now. I lived in a major city as a child.

[gascan]

I'm with you. I'm amazed how quickly the concept of "My business has to have a presence at night" has become some kind of non-negotiable rule. Exactly how much business is driven by 3AM drivebys? But, the costs of all that lighting is suddenly a lot lower than it was before.

The switch to better streetlights is good, but the sea of commercial lighting seems like an unaddressed issue.

I miss the darkness.

[oldcynic]

Better streetlights are OK to a point. Endlessly upgrading lighting such as has happened here seems pointless. I miss the stars. I don't even live in a major city any more.

I don't need major road level lighting if one of a tiny number walking at 3am. I don't mind some gloom between lights. I don't mind in the car either when there's few around. I have lights on the car. If I feel unsafe at 3am, chances are I will with or without floodlighting and get a cab anyway.

Sure illuminate the city centre around where clubs and restaurants are kicking out, or during winter rush hour, but the rest seems light for the sake of light.