The plan aims for the same or even increased lighting levels for most of the municipality. Key connecting routes, such as cycle paths and regional roads, will no longer be fully extinguished at night but dimmed to ensure sufficient visibility and recognizability.
On cycle paths, lighting will be dimmed to 30% every night between 11 PM and 5 AM. On connecting and regional roads, this will occur from Sunday to Thursday between midnight and 4 AM, and on Fridays and Saturdays between midnight and 6 AM to 50%.
In residential streets, the current arrangement remains unchanged: from Sunday to Thursday, lighting will be turned off between midnight and 5 AM, while on Fridays and Saturdays, it will be dimmed to 50% between midnight and 6 AM.
The plan was developed considering the darkness requirement map from the Agency for Nature and Forest. In areas where darkness is crucial for fauna and flora, public lighting will be minimized, affecting a limited number of light poles in Ternat.
In the KMO (SME) zone, lighting will remain on every night, though dimmed to 30% between 11 PM and 5 AM, to ensure safety and visibility for businesses operating at night.
The new regulation will be evaluated after six months, in April 2027. Based on experiences and results, the lighting plan can be adjusted.
More information and the lighting plan map can be found at www.ternat.be/masterplan-openbare-verlichting.
