The Neighbourhood Renewal program is meant to ensure that roads, sidewalks, and streetlights in our older communities are kept in good condition.
However, some community league members are becoming quite concerned about the city’s approach to streetlight upgrades.
While numerous communities are finding ways to improve efficiency when it comes to lighting, Edmonton’s program appears to be getting less efficient. For example, current 70-Watt street lights are expected to be replaced by 100-Watt lamps, spaced at closer intervals. The result is an increase of at least 90 – 100% in the streetlight power bill.
While residents see value in providing good visibility along pedestrian walkways, particularly at road intersections, many also recognize that too much lighting and glare can actually impair visibility. Further, a number of studies demonstrate how increased lighting can lead to increased incidents of both violent and property crimes.
At meetings with Transportation on this subject, community league directors and residents with engineering expertise raised concerns about an “upgrade” that might double their contribution to energy consumption and pollution, while also adding more light where it was not needed. Transportation officials dismissed these concerns, citing a need to meet guidelines from the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC).
It was also noted that many other communities are choosing not to align themselves with the non-binding TAC guidelines. Ottawa, for example, sets its target lighting levels at exactly 50% of those suggested by TAC.
Community league representatives are encouraged to make their views known to the EFCL, City Council and EPCOR. New streetlights will be part of dozens of neighborhood renewal projects in the coming years.
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