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Shining Brighter Lights on Oakland!(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) OAKLAND, Calif., June 17 -- The city of Oakland issued the following news release: Following the success of a pilot program late last year, the City of Oakland will be converting 30,000 existing High Pressure Sodium (HPS) cobra head streetlights with Light Emitting Diode (LED) streetlights citywide. Replacement of the existing streetlight fixtures with the new LED fixtures will provide a better quality of light that will enhance public safety and help reduce crime. In addition, the conversion project will save the City of Oakland money as the new LED technology is more energy efficient and the bulbs have a longer lifespan. Oakland is one of first municipalities to implement wide-scale LED conversion - only five percent of municipalities have converted, or are in the process of converting, to LED lights. Press Conference Date: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 Time: 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Location: MacArthur Blvd. at 98th Avenue - north-east corner of intersection Speakers & Invited Guests will include: Mayor Jean Quan, Councilmember District 7 Larry Reid, Public Works Director Vitaly Troyan, representatives from the Oakland Police Department, Amland Corp. AEKO Consulting, Graybar, GE and CAL Lighting While the LED Streetlight Conversion Project will provide many benefits to several different audiences, the primary goal is to support public safety with brighter and better lighting, with less glare and fewer 'dark spots' between poles. There are significant energy savings resulting in lower power consumption and a healthier environment. LED streetlights require less maintenance and have a longer lifespan (15 years minimum). They are more durable with a heavy-duty exterior and more than a single bulb while being much more energy efficient. The light cast by the LED fixtures is truer than HPS lights, not just shades of grey. Brighter is not the only answer, seeing better is the answer. LED lights will accomplish this with truer color, less glare, better visibility at night, more diffuse coverage, etc. The project will also update the GIS layer and inventory of City streetlights. The ambitious timeline for this the conversion project is to be completed by December 2013. The first phase, already in progress, is to assess the wattage of each light in order to specify the materials needed prior to replacement. Between 4,000 to 5,000 lights per council district will be converted. The Community will receive advanced notice from the conversion vendor Amland Corp. as the project reaches different council districts and neighborhoods. Their contract with the City of Oakland specifies distribution of informational flyers as part of their community outreach. There are several partners in the conversion project including the City of Oakland, Public Works Agency, Department of Infrastructure & Operations, Oakland Police Department, PG&E, Amland Corp. and AEKO Consulting. The Installation will begin at the San Leandro /Oakland border, west of I-580 and converge west and north. Simultaneously, Aeko Consulting (an Oakland subcontractor) will start at the Berkeley/Oakland border and converge east and south, below I-580. The final stage will be to start at both city limits above the I-580 and converge. The Work will be performed Mondays through Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contractor crews will operate aerial lift trucks and will be a moving operation, with each light fixture only taking about 15 minutes. Some streets will be specially scheduled to reduce traffic congestion during rush hours. The trucks will have temporary traffic safety cones and flags that will move along the lane of traffic so impacts to parking and driveway access will be minimized. Please drive safely! The Cost for the project is estimated to be $14.8 million including materials and labor. An estimated total of $2.9 million in incentive rebates from PG&E will also be used to fund the project. For more information, visit our website at www.oaklandpw.com. CC AutoTriage1pm-130618-30TagarumaMar-4392336 30TagarumaMar (c) 2013 Targeted News Service |