The City of Cape Town’s drive to retrofit existing street lights along major roads and in neighborhoods across the metro is in full swing with roughly R22-million spent towards this program in the last financial year.

The programme will see all street lights fitted with high intensity discharge (HID) lighting replaced with light-emitting diode (LED) technology, to light up the way for motorists and pedestrians.

Approximately R20-million has been budgeted for the new financial year to have the replacements made. To date, a total of 820km of roads have undergone the retrofitting changes across the metro.

Investigation into the different light sources show that a saving of about 40% can be achieved once the full replacements are complete without compromising on the light intensity.

HID lamps have proven to have an average life expectancy of four years where LED lamps can last up to 25 years. If fittings of LEDs are done correctly the lamps should not require maintenance for the full life cycle of the fitting.

The first phase of the M3 refurbishment project has recently been completed on 1,5km of the road between Princess Annes and Woolsack off-ramps. This has included the replacement of 82 lights at a cost of R952 656.

Once the full project is completed, the length of the M3 from Buitengracht Street to Klaassens Road will be lit with LED technology.

In full the programme will see the roll-out of LED technology to major and minor roads within the areas marked for upgrades.

The most recent areas where this programme was rolled out include Protea Park in Atlantis; Manenberg; the Gugulethu Phase 4 housing project; Lavender Hill; Bay View; Mandalay in Mitchells Plain and Silvertown in Athlone.

“All of the City’s traffic lights and 15% of the street lights have been retrofitted with LEDs or energy-efficient bulbs. This is part of our efforts to become a more sustainable city and to use technology and innovation to the advantage of our residents and businesses. Becoming more efficient is also necessary to enhancing the resilience of this city. The cost of an LED fitting is still higher at this stage but it is coming down. It is projected that the lower energy usage and the reduced maintenance requirements of an LED fitting will result in substantial savings for the City over the life of the unit,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

Light refurbishment projects to be carried out in this new financial year include Wesbank, Protea Valley, Avondale, Fairfield Estate, Killarney Gardens, Primrose Park and Bhunga Drive.

Picture: Pixabay

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