From the Decatur Minute blog…
The City of Decatur 2010 Strategic Plan calls for the City to be good stewards of environmental resources and one of the tasks in the plan is expanding the use of more sustainable lighting options on streets and within city parks and public areas. In addition, the City of Decatur Police Department has received community feedback requesting better and brighter lighting to increase safety and deter criminal behavior in our neighborhoods and business districts.
To achieve those objectives, the City of Decatur LED lighting project is designed to provide quality lighting for city roadways and sidewalks and reduce electricity consumption. We have contracted with Georgia Power to upgrade approximately 1380 streetlights from high pressure sodium light fixtures to LED fixtures.
The benefits of the LED lights include:
- Smart LED streetlights enable Georgia Power and the city to monitor the system for non-functioning streetlights to improve system operation.
- Reducing street light energy consumption by 40% to 60%.
- Improving lighting quality and visibility to enhance street safety.
- Real-time communicating of non-operating streetlights for improved response.
- Eliminating the use of hazardous materials contained in sodium vapor lamps.
- Preserving the night sky.
Georgia Power has started replacing fixtures in the Winnona Park, College Heights, Lenox Place and Great Lakes neighborhoods. We anticipate that it will take approximately one month to complete installation city-wide. The new LED lights are brighter than sodium vapor lights and emit a much clearer light. It will be different and they change the lighting along the street. Once city-wide installation is complete, we will be working with Georgia Power to make adjustments and add light shields, so please bear with us as the new lights are installed.
Photos courtesy of Georgia Power.
The new streetlights are horrible. They are are way too bright & blinding, & I am glad that the City refused to install the version available. I am guessing there have been many complaints as some streets have shut off half the lights. The redesign that the City asked for needs to be much superior to the poorly designed ones now being used. They make one feel like being in a ghetto or industrial zone, rather than being in a nice neighborhood. They are bad for bicycling at night because they are so blinding, both to the eyes & making it actually hard to see the road. One has to go to the other side of the road to safely bicycle, which is not the best solution. Please, refuse to install these inferior lights until they are much improved, energy savings aside.
I have to say, I much appreciated the new lights on our small, heavily treed street. There were sections where it was pitch black when walking my dog at night. They are bright, but way better than what we had previously.
The jury is still out in our household as to whether we like the new lights. I appreciate the better lit street and sidewalk. Our better lit front yard? Not so much (a motion-activated floodlight handles that duty). Like others, no doubt, we are awaiting the rumored shield installation (any timeframe on that?) and will render a final verdict at that point.
Of course, in ten years when we’re all driving driverless cars will we even need street lights? 😉
Ours were changed yesterday and they are horrible. Way, way too bright. Way too blue. One small point source that is blinding if you look at it directly.
I noticed my room seemed brighter when I went to bed but I was too tired to register it much. Then this morning I woke up at 3:30, (not uncommon unfortunately), and bolted wide awake because of the blue glow in my room. It is not even very direct. I’m on the second floor and the ceiling had a bright glow from light bouncing off the street surface. I don’t know how a shield will help with light reflected up off the street.
I do not have air conditioning so I really want to leave my windows open and unobstructed. I had to tie a bandanna over my eyes to make it dark enough to get back to sleep. Tonight I’m going to CVS to see if they sell sleep masks.
They still haven’t changed the light at the back of our house on the alley. The contrast between the two is startling.