Barrhead town council shines the light on streetlamps

BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors admitted visibility on Elevator Road at night has much to be desired.

However, it may not be as poor as several other locations in the municipality, nor is it worth the estimated $7,600 to $10,000 FortisAlberta wants to upgrade the street lights on the roadway.

On Feb. 25, councillors instructed the administration to investigate options to improve streetlight lighting within the municipality.

Coun. Don Smith said that in preparation for the discussion, he drove down the road and did not feel the road any darker than several others in the town.

"It's not a walking road," he said.

Elevator Road is essentially a truck route, allowing motorists and larger vehicles to avoid the commercial traffic of Kowalski Drive and the residential neighbourhoods along 49 and 48 Avenues and serve the grain elevators.

"If we are going to put up lights in the community, we need to have a better idea of where they are needed," Smith said, reiterating he believes many other neighbourhoods are "darker" than Elevator Road.

Coun. Dave Sawatzky asked administration to investigate the cost of improving the street lighting during council's budget workshops after he almost struck a pedestrian in the early morning.

"I didn't realize there would be such a substantial cost. I had hoped Fortis would install higher illumination bulbs on the existing street lights because they don't light up very much," he said. "It is a very dark road at 5:30 a.m., but I agree with Coun. Smith, not at this cost."

Earlier in the meeting, corporate services director Jennifer Mantay provided Fortis' estimate for the installation of an additional light pole at the Elevator Road and 54th Street intersection, along with nine new streetlights on existing poles, at $9,658, excluding GST, while the installation of seven new streetlights on existing poles at $7,618, excluding GST.

Had council approved the project, the funds would have come from the 2025 operating reserve.

Chief administrative officer Colin Steffes noted his recollection of Sawatzky's concern was he was most concerned with the visibility at the 54th Street intersection and asked if scaling the project to that location would meet his concerns.

"Not really. The road up to the [Pembina West Co-op] card lock is fairly dark, but again, I can't agree with spending this kind of money," Sawatzky said.

Smith suggested a better question for Fortis is why aren't the streetlights already in place providing better illumination?

"There are already seven street lights on Elevator Road. Is that all the light they can generate? It doesn't seem like they are that bright," he said.

Coun. Rod Klumph agreed the road was "somewhat dark" but had no difficulties crossing it on foot at night.

Coun. Dausen Kluin said the intersection near the old Champion Feeds property and the all-wheeled park was more problematic.

"That is a walking path, and it is not lit up at all," he said.

Smith suggested that the municipality undertake a streetlight effectiveness audit before it does anything.

"I'm not sure how public works could determine whether certain areas need more lights," he said.

Steffes said the first step would be determining a concrete measurable, saying anything else is subjective.

He added that he participated in his first Polar Parade in December and "found Main Street was quite dark."

Coun. Anthony Oswald agreed, saying everything has become darker since the municipality allowed Fortis to swap out its old conventional style, high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlight fixtures for LEDs.

In 2016, Fortis offered municipalities the chance to replace the HPS fixtures with LEDs for a nominal cost, saying the new mounts and bulbs would save 184,200-kilowatt hours of electricity a year and cut the town's electricity bill by about $2,500.

"It is not the same. Main Street and everywhere else is darker, including the streetlight near my house," he said. "The old light used to shine right inside my house. It worked almost like a nightlight. Now I have to turn on a light."

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com