street lights (Ondine Road/Area)

[mash123]

I've been away from the area for sometime and drove sdown Ondine Road/Area on SUnday to see the new street lighting/Day of the Triffids/War of the worlds - what have they done? It's horrific.Whats with the iguana,chameleon thing?

[peckhamboy]

Come on, they're a hell of a lot better than the old ones, both in terms of appearance and lighting. Personally, I quite like them.

[mariamenendez]

I don't like them at all. They're too tall and don't fit in with the area. Plus they are a bit scarey.

[flapjackdavey]

I think they're are shite quite honestly .... I find it quite alarming that somebody thought they where a good idea in the first place.

and yeah ..., whats with the iguana thing ?

[mash123]

The more I think about it, the more these things irritate me.

If the purpose of the 'upgrade' is to provide a more discrete softer lighting and reduce light pollution then why compensate by over designing the lamp iself. General thinking is that street furntiure should blend in to or compliment the existing architecture and not conspicuousy litter the pavement.If their was a project to replant the road with some mature trees would Southwark daub 'Tree Here' in neon up each trunk?

I am sure there is a well meaning counciller behind all this but really their licence should have stopped with the technology and not their tacky aesthetic. Are we to pop our post into the mouth of a seated porcelain cheetah next or take a rest on a bronze cupped hand or swan's wing.I'm all for the odd singular bit of bad public art but this is a repeated attack.

The design lends itself less to some sort of sprouting bud and more to something creepily spermic.Is this a product of some lonely designer? Was this scheme decided in private?Southwark should wash their hands here.I remember reading about a theme park in Holland based on self-pleasuring that would jump at some knocked down perimeter lighting.

I don't wish to sound so reactionary - I am all for the technology behing the lighting but the steelwork itself should go. ''Come find thee scrap theives and smelteth.''

[TJS]

They are good, and give good lighting, find something better to winge about.

[flapjackdavey]

TJS Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> They are good, and give good lighting, find

> something better to winge about.

We're just giving our views TJS . I don't think they suit the area at all , :))they're all down Bellenden road too , and I don't think they are in keeping with the area ...

[mash123]

I agree.I have no issue with the quality of lighting as mentioned. The lighting is good - it is the absense of any consultation on such an unsympathetic design.If there was a similar Orwellian concensus to the scheme then fine. I'm a winge. If not then its up for discussion surely? Giant Semen lamps with lizards strapped to them good?

I know, bright red tarmac for us zombies to distinguish the road from the pavement. Even more, when a visiting driver swerves in response to seeing an alien invasion and ploughs through a crowd of reptile enthusiasts there would be no need to hose down the road. Don't ask though, we don't know, just install it.

[Moos]

I realise I'm swimming against the tide here, but I like them. They don't fit in with the Victorian architecture, but nor do the rows of cars perpetually parked, or the bins, or the gravelly layout of people's gardens. I also really appreciate walking home in a well-lit street at night; Ondine Road used to be a bit too dark for my liking.

[Eileen]

These lights were part of the last act of the infamous Bellenden Renewal Scheme that started in 97/98. The last street to have works in it was Marsden Road and very extensive they appear to have been as some of the houses needed structural work because of settlement or worse. That street was chosen, we were told, as there are lots of visitors to the area through the Wildlife Garden Centre there, also the design of the lamp posts reflected that as they are in the shape of a flower or leaf I think. If there was any consultation about the lights it was very quiet and not even throughout the streets where they were placed as people there seemed to have been taken by surprise. But that was not unusual in the Renewal Scheme. The decisions were taken by the Housing Renewal Team (council staff) that were in charge. Ward councillors were a bit involved at the beginning but that dropped off and they had no effective involvement any more than the residents did by half way through. There was in fact very little accountability. Personally I thought Marsden Road was much improved by the works, and the lamp standards were too big for the area. But in the end they seem to grow on you. Just glad the Renewal Team with their sometimes stressful effects have left the area for good (18 months ago).

[arriety]

I love the lights because they are interesting and creative and show spirit. Imagine what we would have ended up with if there had been a consultation, bog standard street lights that appealed to everyone and broke no rules probably. yawn. There are so many things to worry about in the world i am genuinely surprised that anyone could be upset by harmless and quirky street lamps. Really. England used to celebrate eccentricity, now its homogeneity and bland all the way, probably a result of too many consultations and too many people getting upset by new design.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I walk up and down Ondine Road every day and hadnt noticed the new street lights. We live in an area that is a mish mash of styles and eras so prostesting that they dont fit in is rather swimming against the tide.

The street lights at the ED Road end of Oakhurst Grove have been replaced by the most tedious examples of non-designed utilitarian grot it has been my displeasure to view from my balcony.

[AcedOut]

Agree, the Oakhust/Kelmore Grove lighting is horrific. I preferred the softer yellowish lighting that the previous lamps offered. The whole place is lit up like a high street now. Why can't we get the nice lantern style lighting that's offered in Chelsea/ & Knightsbridge for example?

How much light to people need anyway!?