LED lights upgrade to continue

The future looks bright for Kāpiti as the District prepares to complete its switch to the more energy-efficient street lighting.

The balance of the District’s 4,200 street lamps will be replaced with new white light-emitting diode (LED) lights over the next eight months. Around 2,000 lights have been installed so far.

Infrastructure Services Group Manager Sean Mallon says the project is possible because of a Government subsidy.

“The NZ Transport Agency will contribute 85%of the estimated $1.3 million to switch to LED lights. LED lights are more expensive, but they provide better illumination and draw more than 50% less power.”

“They also have a much longer shelf life - around 20 years compared to four to five years for a sodium vapour street lamp, which means they don’t need to be replaced as often and the cost to run and maintain street lighting is less.”

“We’ve already installed LED lights in Paekākāriki, Ōtaki and Waikanae and now we’re working to complete Paraparaumu and Raumati. We’ll be carrying out some of the work at night, but we’ll make sure our crews keep the noise down, and cause as little disruption as possible. We appreciate your patience while we carry out the rest of this project.”

A number of decorative poles will also be retrofitted with LEDs, with the poles to be replaced as part of future works.