Poor lighting in Glasgow parks due to ‘environmental considerations’, says council
Glasgow City Council has said that it is not common to provide lighting in parks across the city for environmental reasons, despite concerns raised for the safety of people having to walk through the areas at night.
The comment comes after head of communications at the council, Colin Edgar, told Radio Clyde News that city parks are “not places for people to be in the evening.”
He said they do not encourage people to use parks during the night because they operate differently to how they do during the day.
Mr Edgar’s comments were in response to concerns raised over police officers directing people, lone women included, into Kelvingrove park on Monday evening amid road closures for the COP26 climate summit currently taking place in Glasgow.
Police Scotland apologised for the actions and said it would add additional patrols if last-minute diversions are required again.
Mr Edgar added that the extensive amount of lighting required to make a park feel safe to someone in the hours of darkness is “not compatible” with the nature that thrives and lives in the areas. This includes nocturnal birds, bats and pollinators.
Following Mr Edgar’s comments, a council spokeswoman said on Thursday: “It is not common practice to provide lighting within any of our parks due to environmental considerations and to ensure as natural a habitat as possible for local wildlife.”