And the city said, let there be light.
Sometime tonight, the switch will be thrown to light up a long row of streetlights on First Avenue that have been dark since early August.
For residents of the Heritage neighbourhood who use that roadway from Tabor Boulevard to Foothills Boulevard in their travels and have had to put up with more than three months in the dark, it’s welcome news that the city has hooked up a temporary power source to those new LED streetlights and that city crews intend to turn those lights on tonight.
The response came after B.C. Hydro announced last weekend that completion of the project to replace those 37 streetlights would be delayed by four-to-six weeks and might not be finished until mid-December. The delay was caused by a miscalculation in the initial design and BC Hydro needs more time to install another transformer, an electrical box and extend a length of electrical conduit before the permanent power source is installed.
“This operation is undertaken in response to requests from residents living along the busy route who were in the dark during this transition to new lighting infrastructure,” said Michael Kellett, the city’s senior communications officer.
“There are over 100 residential units including houses and apartments along the route, and thousands more in the surrounding neighbourhood.”
The project is the initial phase of a multi-year city plan to replace aging and failing streetlights in the city with brighter, more energy-efficient LED lights and improve safety on roads and intersections.
