Grand Rapids Reporter

Grand Rapids’ conversion of its 18,000 City streetlights to LED fixtures is nearly complete. The Citywide LED project is more than 80 percent complete with 15,000 already converted to LEDs.

The project enters its final phase with the City’s lighting contractor scheduled to install 1,000 LEDs a month in the three remaining Focus Areas over the next three months, depending on the weather. The City’s lighting contractor will be working from North (Focus Area 1) to South (Focus Area 2) and finishing up in Downtown (Focus Area 3). The remaining Focus Areas will complete the work in Cheshire, Creston, Monroe, Michigan Street, Heartside, Division South, East Fulton, Cherry/Lake/Diamond neighborhoods and business districts. 

The work is unlikely to disrupt access or traffic. Neighborhood associations will be informed of the general schedule in their areas, but neighbors are unlikely to notice work occurring until the light fixture has changed.

The decision to move to LED lights for all neighborhood street lighting was done for its economic, safety and environmental benefits. According to City Engineer Tim Burkman, the installed LEDs are already saving the City significant electrical costs. The City expects an estimated annual energy savings of approximately $350,000 when fully operational. 

“Our primary goal in arriving at this decision was the safety of our residents and neighborhoods, which is a critical objective in the City’s strategic plan,” Burkman said.

“We know that most accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists happen at night, and many of those are the result of poor visibility. Additionally, better lighting will make residents feel safer in their own neighborhoods — cities like Detroit have seen great results when they transitioned to this LED temperature for their street lighting.”

This move also aligns with the City’s strategic plan in the following objectives:

• residents feeling safe in their neighborhoods at all times
• community engagement through surveys for residents’ perception of City services, events, programs and facilities
• improving cost-effectiveness through asset management, continuous improvement and innovation.
• reduce carbon emissions and increase climate resiliency by reducing the carbon footprint of our City’s electrical utility. 

In early 2019, the City formed an LED Pilot team composed of staff from the Energy, Lighting, and Communications (ELC), Environmental Services and Engineering departments, along with engineering consulting firm GeoTech. The group recommended this change after extensive research, analysis and community engagement, which included surveys in targeted neighborhoods and side-by-side comparison of two light color temperature options. Work began in summer 2021 on the outer limits of the city and is working toward the center/downtown of Grand Rapids.

For information on the City’s LED Color Temperature Selection Process, visit: grandrapidsmi.gov/Government/Departments/Energy-Lighting-and-Communications/LED-Color-Temperature-Selection-Process.

Original source can be found here.