Now in September, brackets and electrical contacts for Christmas decorations that previously hung on lighting poles in Älghult, Lenhovda and Åseda have been removed. The Swedish Transport Administration does not allow you to put anything on their posts. City residents in Älghult are annoyed because they have had the Christmas lights in the community for over 20 years, but the Swedish Transport Administration has begun work to ensure that the regulations are followed.

Why have there been Christmas lights in the posts before?

- It can have several causes. Sometimes the pillars may have belonged to the municipality and then the Swedish Transport Administration has taken over. It may also be that they agreed on the location without having knowledge of the regulations. Now we try to do the same across the country when we deal with this issue, says Elin Isaksson, national traffic engineer at the Swedish Transport Administration.

Ellagen also puts a stop to Christmas lighting in poles

Christmas decorations that are installed in the road area are seen by the Swedish Transport Administration as a safety risk that they may fall down, but also because the poles are not designed for the often heavy Christmas lighting. In addition, the Electricity Act means that the Swedish Transport Administration may not supply others with electricity.

- Authorities must neither give nor sell electricity. This is one of the reasons why we have to go through our facilities and see how it looks. The work has been ongoing for several years and it continues. Unfortunately, I have no timetable for when everything will be ready.

The Swedish Transport Administration wants to encourage municipalities to find other solutions for Christmas lighting.

- It is possible to set up house facades, trees or other places, to hang them across the road between our posts we will say no to.