St. Catharines Downtown Association

The city will begin testing the power and cost-saving potential of new hi-tech street light bulbs on James St. next week.

Three different technologies, including LED and fluorescent bulbs, will shine down between King St. and Lake St. during a six-month experiment.

That could eventually lead to "millions in savings" and help cut the city's carbon footprint, said Mayor Brian McMullan in an announcement Thursday at city hall.

A consultant will evaluate which technology shows the best energy and dollar savings for the city, then recommend whether it's worthwhile to convert all the city's 12,000 high-pressure sodium bulbs.

It costs about $1.2 million to power all 15,000 street lamps in the city, although 3,000 of those are decorative lamps that won't be converted.

Cutting costs isn't enough, however, said city transportation services manager Kris Jacobson.

The city has to gauge how effectively the LED and fluorescent lights throw light at night, he said. To that end, residents will be asked to highlight their favourite street-light options during the experiment.

Please see full story in The St. Catharines Standard by M. VanDongen at:

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/PrintArticle.aspx?e=2732133