New York to replace all street lights by 2017

Mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan have announced that all 250,000 standard street light fixtures in New York City will be replaced with energy-efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by 2017.

“With roughly a quarter-million street lights in our city, upgrading to more energy efficient lights is a large and necessary feat,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “It will save taxpayers millions of dollars, move us closer to achieving our ambitious sustainability goals, and help us to continue reducing city government’s day-to-day costs and improving its operations.”

The Administration’s long-term sustainability programme – PlaNYC – aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from city government operations by 30 percent by 2017. Additionally, the LED replacement plan will build on the Department of Transportation’s strategic plan, which outlines steps to green transport operations, while improving efficiency and reducing costs.

The project is the first to receive funding through the Accelerated Conservation and Efficiency initiative or ACE, a US$100 million competitive programme that the Department of Citywide Administrative Services launched to expedite projects undertaken by city agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. LEDs have already been installed in street lights along key corridors, most recently for Eastern Parkway’s pedestrian lights between Grand Army Plaza and Ralph Avenue in Brooklyn, on Manhattan’s FDR Drive, along Central Park’s pedestrian paths and on the “necklace” lights that adorn the cables of East River Bridges.

“Using LEDs for street lighting is more than just a bright idea, it’s a necessity for sustainable cities to operate more efficiently while also delivering clearer, better quality light for New Yorkers,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “From our parks to our bridges and to our streets and highways, these 250,000 lights will brighten New York City’s streetscapes for generations to come.”

Compared to the current standard high-pressure sodium lights currently on streets, which last six years, LEDs can last up to 20 years before needing replacement, potentially producing up to an 80 percent savings on maintenance. All together, the 250,000 new LED streetlights are expected to be the largest LED retrofit in the United States and save approximately US$6 million in energy and US$8 million in maintenance a year.