Bright Idea? Pittsburgh To Spend $16 Million On New Streetlights

PITTSBURGH, PA — The city plans to spend $16 million to replace more than 35,000 streetlights with LED lighting, while adding 15,000 new lights to areas that currently don't have them. The project, which will begin in the spring pending city council approval, will be partially paid for with American Rescue Plan money.

The city contends the initiative will save more than $1 million annually by reducing energy consumption costs by as much as 50 percent. The move also will the city into compliance with its new dark skies lighting standards to reduce light pollution.

Mayor Bill Peduto's administration believes the move also will reduce the costs and frequency of outages and replacements.

The project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.

The city began installing LED streetlights about 10 years ago and has about 4,300 in operation. They are flatter and more rectangular than the high pressure sodium "cobralights" they will replace.

In 2016, the American Medical Association warned that LED streetlights create worse nighttime glare than convention lighting and can decrease visual acuity, creating a hazard.

The AMA also noted that LED streetlights don't just impact motorists. The increased light on residential streets at night has been connected to reduced sleep times, dissatisfaction with sleep quality, excessive sleepiness, impaired daytime functioning and obesity.

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