Western Riverside County Welcomes Community Input on Lighting

From the Western Riverside Council of Governments:

The City of Hemet and Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) have collaborated to create the region’s first streetlight Demonstration Areas to allow for members of the public to view and comment on a variety of new streetlight technologies. The Demonstration Areas are an important part of WRCOG’s Regional Streetlight Program, designed to assist jurisdictions in Western Riverside County assess the potential benefits of acquiring, modernizing, and providing ongoing operations and maintenance of the over 63,000 streetlights in the region.

There are many reasons why local governments and communities would benefit from acquiring streetlights in their jurisdiction, especially by taking a collaborative, regional approach. Municipalities have a unique opportunity to gain local control over their community streetlights and update lights with modern, energy efficient fixtures, providing public safety and cost saving benefits. For example, for every one (1) streetlight acquired and retrofitted to newer, more energy-efficient lighting, a jurisdiction can save up to an average of 62% ($104) in annual utility bills. Locally-owned streetlights also offer other benefits; banners can be attached to poles to promote community events or honor individuals, for example. Additionally, “smart city” technologies can be placed on locally-owned poles to expand community services and improve public safety. These smart city applications can include anything from gunshot detecting devices, to city-wide wireless telecommunications, to air quality sensors.

Public safety and neighborhood security is an important part of this regional effort, and WRCOG will engage with local elected officials, community leaders, law enforcement representatives, and the public to ensure the Regional Streetlight Program addresses their goals.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit the Demonstration Areas and provide input on visual and aesthetic preferences of the lights (e.g. color, brightness, etc.), how safe they make the neighborhood feel, and how well-lit they keep the streets. Surveys can be found on WRCOG’s website, or visitors can scan the QR code displayed on tags on the streetlight poles (example shown to the right) and provide their lighting preferences through their smart phone. This input will be part of the process for selecting which light fixtures work best for the region.

The Demonstration Areas will be fully installed by August 2016, and can be viewed through January 2017 (map with locations as shown).

To learn more about how you can participate, contact Tyler Masters, Program Manager, at masters@wrcog.cog.ca.us or (951) 955-8378. Or contact the City of Hemet at (951) 765-3712.

Images via the Western Riverside Council of Governments