Purple street lights phenomenon spotted along BC highways and roads (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)
Driving around BC, you may have noticed that some streetlights are giving off a deep purple glow, causing a few road stretches to look more like a nightclub. Well, that’s not intentional.
Daily Hive Urbanized first brought you the reason for the colour change last fall, but it turns out it’s more than just a Vancouver problem.
For years, municipalities have been transitioning their streetlights to LED lighting to improve nighttime visibility and reduce energy use and cost.
However, there’s been a manufacturing defect in the LED streetlights, causing some to transition from a hue of white to purple gradually.
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The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure spotted this issue in several locations in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Particularly on the island, this phenomenon can be seen in the Malahat section of Highway 1.
“This has occurred at isolated locations and is not anticipated to be an ongoing issue,” the ministry ensures.
It added the province is working to replace the lights since it has a 15-year warranty with the manufacturer.
“This means that the ministry will not incur any costs on materials, and the labour is covered under the Electrical Maintenance Services Agreement,” the ministry explained.
It’s been widely reported that LED lights have even turned purple in other jurisdictions across Canada and the United States.
captainreindeer/Reddit
While the lights aren’t on purpose, some people are digging the purple.
“I love the violet hue so don’t fix it!” John Kamitakahara commented on Daily Hive Urbanized’s previous article.
“Purples my favorite color so im hoping they keep the defects or at least move them to a specific area,” another user added.
i’d say we should keep them and change all the street lights with purple lights! vancouver would look very futuristic sci-fi city pic.twitter.com/bgqzpfdmzS
— Joel (@jbanez_) October 6, 2022
What do you think of the colour? Let us know in the comments.
- You might also like:
- This is why some white LED streetlights are starting to turn purple
- All streetlights in Vancouver to be converted into energy-efficient white LED
- Bright and colourful: new permanent lighting installed on SkyTrain in Metrotown
- Granville Street should be Vancouver's version of NYC's Times Square: City staff