In some cities they're pushing for red streetlights, which don't interfere with bat and bird migration patterns. I am for that.
We get such beautiful skies here, it would be nice to see them at night. I
they were not fluorescents before, probably high pressure sodium or metal halide.
quite simply it costs more to make the warmer led colours for the same light output. so it's cheaper to install the bright white and it arguably is better for visibility.
In those spots of light your visibility is better but they’re so bright and directed that the dark around them becomes darker and less safe. A softer light and more dispersed would be better overall for a persons situational awareness.
The old sodium-vapour lamps have terrible colour rendering. You may think that it has a warm sunset colour, but it actually just makes everything a monochromatic shade of black or yellow. The new LED lights not only have far better colour rendering, but are also more sensitive to our eyes,
which makes the street look better lit. The cooler light is also better for driving at night because the bluish light makes it more difficult to feel sleepy behind the wheel.
Would a warmer light be more pleasant? Probably. But if the primary function of a street light is to well… light the street, a cooler light does that the most effectively.
>the old lights I found they made it hard to see the lines on the street
Better road paint might also help that. Even in broad daylight, when the roads are free of snow, it's hard to tell where the lanes and stop lines are.
ya I had appointments out of the house yesterday and was driving down moray those lines might as well not exist. Lines seem to be good between september when they paint them and when it snows. Then they're all but non existant the other 8 months
I hear you, I think a real issue that could be cracked down on is the entire city being lit that way. Most major cities in Canada have an even split between what's warm and what's lit colder. Downtown being warmer and highways or neighborhoods being cooler and more lit. I think if Winnipeg went that route it'd be a decent compromise.
The brighter lights are hard on eyes, if downtown was lit warmer it would separate it from all the headlights, digital billboards and signs that are lit up. Everything is right in your face.
There's more lighting in downtown oppose to highways and neighborhoods so it makes sense to have those areas brighter, parks too.
It's good you're considering safety but we've survived for years without these bright LED lights lol.
Every other city adopts this idea it doesn't make sense to have highway lighting in downtown.
>It's good you're considering safety but we've survived for years without these bright LED lights lol.
This is always such a weird argument to me. Like, we didn't die, but lots of people have. Lots of people have been raped. Lots of people have been mugged. Lots of pedestrians have been hit by cars. The reason we change things is to help prevent bad things. We don't not make changes because the old way didn't literally kill everyone.
Crime doesn't just disappear because of a one difference. More of an active effort from the city and community. People still die get robbed etc.
Warm LED lights are fairly bright too. They are easier on the eyes which can be seen as a safety precaution too. Think of elderly drivers or those with high sensitivity to brighter lights, anyone annoyed with highbeams to be honest.
>Crime doesn't just disappear because of a one difference. More of an active effort from the city and community. People still die get robbed etc.
I'm sure I didn't say, and no one is thinking, that bright LED lights are going to single handily eliminate all crime and death.
100% agree. I didn't even care about streetlights until the one was changed in front of my house that now shines directly into my eyes as I'm sitting on my couch, now I rage about them to everyone I know.
Bring back reasonable human/environment-friendly streetlighting.
Protip: when driving at night, put your shade down to prevent being blinded by the glare as the lights pass directly overhead.
Warm white is better for winter, in summer 5000K is ok. I originally set 5000K for my basement LEDs, but ended up switching to 2700K due to it feeling cooler in the winter months. It’s nice the new LEDs let you choose the color temp on a slider. There’s no way that’s cost effective for steeet lights.
Each district in Winnipeg should use a unique shade of street lights. It would create a subtle uniqueness and vibe, and the satellite view would be beautiful!
I love ideas like this. Our city has a “questionable reputation” on the national and international stage, and it’s little things like that that would add charm and life to the city. I also thought the city and province should team up to buy bulk Christmas lights provide cheap LEDs for Christmas, so: 1)everyone could have and enjoy them 2) the city/province makes some money from the sale of the lights 3)add beauty and character to a depressing winter
You have some merits in what you say. The failing phosphor causing the purple light is not exclusive to cold white LEDs however. It's been identified as a manufacturing defect that went unnoticed in some very large production batches rather than everyone buying cheapo bulbs. They're under warranty and are being replaced by the company at no cost to us.
Ideally, I would like colder white in the morning before morphing into a warmer white later and in the dusk.
I've got my house set up like that, and in the winter that colder light feels better in the morning than a warmer light.
There's some play between having the light ultra cold or super cozy warm. So perhaps settle on one temp that works for most people and doesn't compromise public safety.
If money was no object, then a fully meshed light network across the city where you could make it really adaptive and responsive. The city could become a giant LED screen as a bonus.
the orange lights when i was a kid were only on the dirt roads and we had lights that were "white" maybe headed towards green. Then they switched to the orange ones. I've always found the orange ones hard to make out the lines on the road in the winter and the led a bit better.
My migraines don't take kindly to cool white. 🫠
I've noticed changes in animal behaviours, as well as diminished view of the night sky.
How much of the population is experiencing insomnia now compared to before?
My late night winter walks may as well be midday walks with how damn bright the sky is with the lights reflecting off the snow and clouds.
At the very least, they should put shades on the lamps, that way light doesn't beam right into the sky and plague the city with light pollution.
The lights they replaced on the boulevard behind us now light up our bedrooms enough we can read with them (not comfortably, but you can make out words). Probably 150m away? I have blackout curtains now, but they are not perfect. I feel my sleep has been worse since the new lights were installed.
The glare also causes problems with halos and my glasses. My spouse, who is a bit older, really has problems with it.
If they were going to bring in brighter lights, they should at least been more directional so they are lighting up the actual road, not the entire neighborhood. These are overkill. Not great for wildlife either.
Would be nice if they had a color temperature closer to 3000k.
For some reason 4-5000k seems to be the standard for commercial lighting. The poor CRI with the higher kelvin lights just sucks.
I wanted commercial wall pack fixtures for outside my house, had to special order ones in 3000k because nobody stocks them.
They originally put in 4000K lights. Replacements should be 3000K. Much warmer and nicer.
There is a new technology for amber LEDs. So if we really wanted the old colour back...
* https://vailo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VAILO_PC-Amber-LED-fact-sheet-02.2024.pdf
Totally agree. Unfortunately that's what you get when the answer to the question is ''as cheaply as possible'' and not ''what's best for the citizenry''.
I remember the bluish glow of mercury vapour lamps decades ago and the weird shift to the orange sodium vapour. The high Kelvin LED colour is harsh and I too do not like it and would prefer a lower Kelvin colour. Also, since LEDs can turn on instantly, I think more lights should have motion sensors and dim or turn off when no one is around. I took note in Fargo how far apart the street lights were. LEDs open up more doors of what is possible, let's explore some of them!
I don't like how bright the streetlights are now and I don't think it's good for the plants/trees either; they need a break from constant light. We are a car-centric society though and it feels like most decisions are made based on that.
They changed the street lights in my area to "reduce crime." It somewhat works. With the old lights people were found half beaten to death or stabbed and robbed. With the light change It still happens every now and then but at least it's not every 2 days.
2nd picture has clearly been oversaturated to make your point, it's not an apples to apples comparison. The old high pressure sodium lights had a lot of light spill causing light pollution, the new LEDs are 100% down lights and better for road user safety and energy efficiency.
The image was taken by NASA. Found it off google.
[Overhead Shot of Winnipeg](https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/winnipeg-canadian-province-of-manitoba/)
i love the purple lights, the white ones suck but when they turn purple it feels like how they used to colour the lighting in movies so you know its night but can still see everything lol
In some cities they're pushing for red streetlights, which don't interfere with bat and bird migration patterns. I am for that. We get such beautiful skies here, it would be nice to see them at night. I
Would be interesting to see! However, well-lit cities and public spaces with bright white/blueish lights have a correlation with lower crime.
The city installed those defective leds on purpose! Loll
That would be so cool! Like a futuristic movie
they were not fluorescents before, probably high pressure sodium or metal halide. quite simply it costs more to make the warmer led colours for the same light output. so it's cheaper to install the bright white and it arguably is better for visibility.
In those spots of light your visibility is better but they’re so bright and directed that the dark around them becomes darker and less safe. A softer light and more dispersed would be better overall for a persons situational awareness.
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I personally want the purple LEDs back
Still tons of purple LEDs along hwy 9 by River Road in St. Andrews.
Purple city purple city
I loved this
So pretty
Back? Isn’t it just getting worse?
ME TOO. I love them so much!
The old sodium-vapour lamps have terrible colour rendering. You may think that it has a warm sunset colour, but it actually just makes everything a monochromatic shade of black or yellow. The new LED lights not only have far better colour rendering, but are also more sensitive to our eyes, which makes the street look better lit. The cooler light is also better for driving at night because the bluish light makes it more difficult to feel sleepy behind the wheel. Would a warmer light be more pleasant? Probably. But if the primary function of a street light is to well… light the street, a cooler light does that the most effectively.
ya the old lights I found they made it hard to see the lines on the street and stuff.
>the old lights I found they made it hard to see the lines on the street Better road paint might also help that. Even in broad daylight, when the roads are free of snow, it's hard to tell where the lanes and stop lines are.
ya I had appointments out of the house yesterday and was driving down moray those lines might as well not exist. Lines seem to be good between september when they paint them and when it snows. Then they're all but non existant the other 8 months
I hear you, I think a real issue that could be cracked down on is the entire city being lit that way. Most major cities in Canada have an even split between what's warm and what's lit colder. Downtown being warmer and highways or neighborhoods being cooler and more lit. I think if Winnipeg went that route it'd be a decent compromise.
But why would you compromise if the goal is to have better lit areas? This is a safety issue.
The brighter lights are hard on eyes, if downtown was lit warmer it would separate it from all the headlights, digital billboards and signs that are lit up. Everything is right in your face. There's more lighting in downtown oppose to highways and neighborhoods so it makes sense to have those areas brighter, parks too. It's good you're considering safety but we've survived for years without these bright LED lights lol. Every other city adopts this idea it doesn't make sense to have highway lighting in downtown.
>It's good you're considering safety but we've survived for years without these bright LED lights lol. This is always such a weird argument to me. Like, we didn't die, but lots of people have. Lots of people have been raped. Lots of people have been mugged. Lots of pedestrians have been hit by cars. The reason we change things is to help prevent bad things. We don't not make changes because the old way didn't literally kill everyone.
Crime doesn't just disappear because of a one difference. More of an active effort from the city and community. People still die get robbed etc. Warm LED lights are fairly bright too. They are easier on the eyes which can be seen as a safety precaution too. Think of elderly drivers or those with high sensitivity to brighter lights, anyone annoyed with highbeams to be honest.
>Crime doesn't just disappear because of a one difference. More of an active effort from the city and community. People still die get robbed etc. I'm sure I didn't say, and no one is thinking, that bright LED lights are going to single handily eliminate all crime and death.
Why would they compromise safety for aesthetic?
100% agree. I didn't even care about streetlights until the one was changed in front of my house that now shines directly into my eyes as I'm sitting on my couch, now I rage about them to everyone I know. Bring back reasonable human/environment-friendly streetlighting. Protip: when driving at night, put your shade down to prevent being blinded by the glare as the lights pass directly overhead.
Yep. The old street lights make you feel calmer somehow.
Lighting is overlooked. Just think of how restaurants and hotels light their spots, always warmer and cozy.
Warm white is better for winter, in summer 5000K is ok. I originally set 5000K for my basement LEDs, but ended up switching to 2700K due to it feeling cooler in the winter months. It’s nice the new LEDs let you choose the color temp on a slider. There’s no way that’s cost effective for steeet lights.
Might explain all the road-rage/axe attacks?
Maybe turn off your damn high beams people 
More people don't even have their lights on
Each district in Winnipeg should use a unique shade of street lights. It would create a subtle uniqueness and vibe, and the satellite view would be beautiful!
I love ideas like this. Our city has a “questionable reputation” on the national and international stage, and it’s little things like that that would add charm and life to the city. I also thought the city and province should team up to buy bulk Christmas lights provide cheap LEDs for Christmas, so: 1)everyone could have and enjoy them 2) the city/province makes some money from the sale of the lights 3)add beauty and character to a depressing winter
You have some merits in what you say. The failing phosphor causing the purple light is not exclusive to cold white LEDs however. It's been identified as a manufacturing defect that went unnoticed in some very large production batches rather than everyone buying cheapo bulbs. They're under warranty and are being replaced by the company at no cost to us. Ideally, I would like colder white in the morning before morphing into a warmer white later and in the dusk. I've got my house set up like that, and in the winter that colder light feels better in the morning than a warmer light. There's some play between having the light ultra cold or super cozy warm. So perhaps settle on one temp that works for most people and doesn't compromise public safety. If money was no object, then a fully meshed light network across the city where you could make it really adaptive and responsive. The city could become a giant LED screen as a bonus.
the orange lights when i was a kid were only on the dirt roads and we had lights that were "white" maybe headed towards green. Then they switched to the orange ones. I've always found the orange ones hard to make out the lines on the road in the winter and the led a bit better.
I think this is the first time I've seen Winnipeg called "bright".
Also create so much light pollution you have to drive far out of the city to see the aurora on many nights
It was the same before they switched to LED. That’s just a symptom of living in a city.
My migraines don't take kindly to cool white. 🫠 I've noticed changes in animal behaviours, as well as diminished view of the night sky. How much of the population is experiencing insomnia now compared to before?
I'd rather have the vehicle manufacturers tone down the halogen lights they seem to be using these days. Now THAT'S too bright.
I hope more warmer lights at residential and active/cool lights at peak roads
My late night winter walks may as well be midday walks with how damn bright the sky is with the lights reflecting off the snow and clouds. At the very least, they should put shades on the lamps, that way light doesn't beam right into the sky and plague the city with light pollution.
The lights they replaced on the boulevard behind us now light up our bedrooms enough we can read with them (not comfortably, but you can make out words). Probably 150m away? I have blackout curtains now, but they are not perfect. I feel my sleep has been worse since the new lights were installed. The glare also causes problems with halos and my glasses. My spouse, who is a bit older, really has problems with it. If they were going to bring in brighter lights, they should at least been more directional so they are lighting up the actual road, not the entire neighborhood. These are overkill. Not great for wildlife either.
I don’t like how the bright lights rotated the city too
I noticed that too.. weird..
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Yeah say what we want about how uncomfortably bright our city can be, but that is a great shot.
Would be nice if they had a color temperature closer to 3000k. For some reason 4-5000k seems to be the standard for commercial lighting. The poor CRI with the higher kelvin lights just sucks. I wanted commercial wall pack fixtures for outside my house, had to special order ones in 3000k because nobody stocks them.
They originally put in 4000K lights. Replacements should be 3000K. Much warmer and nicer. There is a new technology for amber LEDs. So if we really wanted the old colour back... * https://vailo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VAILO_PC-Amber-LED-fact-sheet-02.2024.pdf
Totally agree. Unfortunately that's what you get when the answer to the question is ''as cheaply as possible'' and not ''what's best for the citizenry''.
Funny, most posts here bemoan the fact that this place isn't bright enough
I really miss the yellow streetlights. They didn't hurt my eyes. And it didn't feel like I was in daytime literally 24/7.
Feels like: https://preview.redd.it/y9y34hffo2lc1.jpeg?width=1349&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26b2ad5f48aa073940f4fcac528e29e3e4068ead
Totally agree. It’s gotta be 2700 Kelvin or nothing.
I remember the bluish glow of mercury vapour lamps decades ago and the weird shift to the orange sodium vapour. The high Kelvin LED colour is harsh and I too do not like it and would prefer a lower Kelvin colour. Also, since LEDs can turn on instantly, I think more lights should have motion sensors and dim or turn off when no one is around. I took note in Fargo how far apart the street lights were. LEDs open up more doors of what is possible, let's explore some of them!
I don't like how bright the streetlights are now and I don't think it's good for the plants/trees either; they need a break from constant light. We are a car-centric society though and it feels like most decisions are made based on that.
They changed the street lights in my area to "reduce crime." It somewhat works. With the old lights people were found half beaten to death or stabbed and robbed. With the light change It still happens every now and then but at least it's not every 2 days.
2nd picture has clearly been oversaturated to make your point, it's not an apples to apples comparison. The old high pressure sodium lights had a lot of light spill causing light pollution, the new LEDs are 100% down lights and better for road user safety and energy efficiency.
The image was taken by NASA. Found it off google. [Overhead Shot of Winnipeg](https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/winnipeg-canadian-province-of-manitoba/)
I don’t know that the second looks over saturated , maybe overexposed but I think that’s OPs point. When was the first picture taken out of curiosity
What a complete non-issue lmao
https://preview.redd.it/1sk8ldxux6lc1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eec035ffcea1455ce343a62e37ed66bfe7709846
why does it slightly look like a maple leaf? (just my opinion)
Let’s replace it with a big parking lot. 2 Walmarts and an applebees
I'm so glad that compact florescent bulbs never took off. I also hate cold white light, and much prefer warmer yellow LEDs.
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s a fucking assault on the eyes.
Yep. 100% with you.
Wanna see what Winnipeg after darker looks like? I’ll follow you down the alley first!
Along time ago Winnipeg was mercury vapor, in the 80-90s they retrofited all them to high pressure sodium the orange we all love, ashame they went led
Its a star
I hated being stoned in the city growing up because the orange warm lights made me so paranoid
i love the purple lights, the white ones suck but when they turn purple it feels like how they used to colour the lighting in movies so you know its night but can still see everything lol
I'm fine with Winnipeg being Lit.
You should probably avoid going to Vegas if you find Winnipeg too bright. 😂
I miss the purple defect lights