Not everywhere correct color rendering is required. For many applications color light is acceptable (color not necessarily be Orange). The light is visibly color light with pretty much single band in the spectrum, and the appearance of the light does not raise expectations to render colors under it. (and if there is no color data in the scene because of the light source, no amount of playing with White balance is going to recover it anyway)

Then, when you walk to a place where the light is full spectrum White, you appreciate the change and the better appearance

To walk between places and appreciate changes in lighting, the places must have different types of lighting installed

What about "white" HPS/SON?

I love SOX/LPS but I think SON/HPS is pretty awful.

When HPS mass-replaced MV in my area, I hated the orange color, thought it was ugly, etc.
I don't dislike it anymore, but I still prefer the blue-ish color of MV (and always will), I also like the pure white color of MH better than HPS.
I even own a couple HPS fixtures now...when I was a kid at the time the MV/HPS changeout occurred, if someone had told me "when you get old you will own one of those orange streetlights" I certainly would not have believed them.

One year when I was a kid we also made a trip to California, and I saw SOX for the first time, I loved the yellow streetlights they had...really wanted one of those (what I thought were just yellow fluorescents) for myself.
(I wasn't into collecting lights way back then, but I was still fascinated by them - a story I'm sure most of you guys experienced too?)

As for LED, I actually like the white color, but its also sad to see all the old still-working HPS fixtures replaced.

What about "white" HPS/SON?

Are those the ones that look sorta like warm-white?

Are those the ones that look sorta like warm-white?

Yes warm white 2500K light from White SON

OK, sure, it's better on paper, but I personally find SOX light much prettier.

Cycling is not as boring as a plain "lamp is off" - and is slow enough, not like a flashing EOL Fluorescent or LED. i dont find it offnsive in any way

But if it is, that can be solved with a smart ignitor, so is not a disadvantage of HPS either

I like the HPS lamps when they are cycling, in contrast when I was a little child, then this was scared me.

I'm a Low Pressure Sodium kid, I grew up in a street with Philips SRS201 55w SOX fixtures in my street. The installation continues to work to this day I think, last month they were still there. This week they started to replace some fluorescent double lamp SRS's with Industria Libra LED fixtures. I'm not sure what to think of it. Because some of the fixtures were replaced a year ago with fluorescent Libra's, they are keeping the fluorescent 830's with the new LED 865's. This creates a weird lighting pattern. The SRS's were ALL full of water. All rubber seals have broken down in these 30 years of service. They are going to replace all SOX installations here soon I'm assuming, and since I've always lived in this town I'll miss them. Their cozy orange light always shined trough my bedroom window and I always watched them run up when I was small. But I think the LED's will look very good and it will get rid of all the randomly replaced fixtures between 1990 and now.

Xmaslightguy, San Jose by any chance?

Xmaslightguy, San Jose by any chance?

I was young at the time, & we're talking a trip that was more than 3 decades ago! so had to ask my dad..
Went to 2 cities Santa Barbara & Palos Verdes, so farther south.
I have been to San Jose & San Francisco too (that was a more recent trip, but probably still close to 10 years now)

I don't miss the orange glow of LPS at all, every night I see it out the front door and the orange glow won't ever leave because I will move my philips gold eye's when I move, and I have enough tubes to keep them alive for another 72,000 odd hours and most other replacement parts just in case, I even mounted it to provide a full cut off, so if my city bring's in a dark sky policy it's ready LPS forever...

To be accurate, LPS is nearer to yellow than orange, but I get the point. Yes, I miss it tremendously; I grew up with MV but the first ever discharge lamp that I owned was (and still is, I still have it) a low pressure sodium lamp, this 45W SOI/H lamp. It is, and always will be, my favourite colour for street lighting.

We simply don't need white light for street lighting; it's not necessary and is nowhere near as efficient in conditions of fog or other bad visibility as LPS light. HPS light too is far easier on the eye than the LED glarebombs we have to put up with nowadays

Most of my area is still HPS, but more of the yard light HPS NEMA heads are getting replaced by LED lights. I don't like the color light they produce, it's too washed out and dull looking. It reminds me of a depressing scene in a movie on a rainy night. Something was/is comforting about the orange light. But otherwise other than a stretch of the highway cobras, most lights here are still HPS and there are a few MV still here and there.

One of the other things is I don't like the design of the LED fixtures as much. They aren't as interesting as the old cobras and buckets and just look cheap and plasticty to me. They look like something you would buy at Walmart or Home Depot rather than something commercial quality. I'm trying to like them though.

HPS is still common here aswell as MV.