L I GHT I NG THE WAY FORWARD
Old versus new LED lights require less maintenance than the most common streetlight variant in Dallas. LED life expectancy:
SOURCE: CITY OF DALLAS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
The city of Dallas and Oncor have been working to upgrade existing streetlights to brighter LED technology. More upgrades are in the works.
2019 December: The Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities identi es streetlights as a passive way to curb violent crime.
2020
2021
2022
15-20 years
April: Dallas upgrades 12 streetlights on Forest Lane.
November: Dallas upgrades 28 streetlights on Jupiter Road. December: Dallas upgrades 13 streetlights on Abrams Road.
August: Dallas upgrades 104 streetlights around the Lake Highlands Town Center. December: Oncor upgrades 30 streetlights around Whitehurst Drive, Ferris Branch Boulevard and Wickersham Road.
High-pressure sodium life expectancy:
3-5 years
SOURCE: CITY OF DALLAS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Report an outage Residents are able to report damaged streetlights and outages to Oncor. A variety of options are available. Visit • www.oncorstreetlight.com Call • 888-313-4747 Email • contactcenter@oncor.com
Note: Dallas has plans to install 55 new LED streetlights around Vantage Point Drive, Marville Drive and Fair Oaks Crossing. In addition, the city is discussing 297 potential LED conversions from Oncor around Hamilton Park and around Audelia Road.
maintenance agreement for more LED streetlights. Mayor Eric Johnson’s Task Force on Safe Communities identi ed ample street lighting as a tool to address crime and provide “a sense of safety and well-being,” a 2019 report stated. To that end, annual city budgets for the past two years include $5.5 mil- lion for LED upgrades throughout the city, according to a presentation given by Khankarli in a March 29 city of Dal- las Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting. Khankarli said work to convert all streetlights is di cult with three enti- ties owning them. “The conversion to the LED [lights] is a massive, complicated undertak- ing, especially with the ones that are owned by Oncor,” he said. Dallas incurs capital costs when- ever o cials request conversions of fully functioning streetlights to LED, according to Khankarli. Even so, he added that discussions with Oncor have shown a maintenance agree- ment to convert aging lights to LED could bene t the city. “You will get longer lifetime hours on the LED, … and [the] energy utili- zation is 40%-50% lower,” he said. Khankarli added Oncor-owned lights could be converted to LED through the proposed agreement within the next ve to seven years. That process is still underway, accord- ing to Dunn. “We are engaging in discussions with city o cials on future lighting options, but it is too early to con rm speci cs on scopes or timelines,” Dunn said. Council Member Adam McGough echoed the bene ts said to come from upgraded streetlights. He said he has
been involved in past community e orts to search for faulty streetlights to report to Oncor. Many multifamily communities in City Council District 10 get particularly dark during the summertime, he added. “We have areas, still, where it’s kind of dangerous because it’s dark, and we have pedestrians mixing with cars,” McGough said. “The more you light it up, the safer it is.” Dispelling danger McGough said the mayor’s task force has focused on nding ways to reduce violent crimes through non- police e orts. Recent city e orts include when City Council on March 9 approved an investment of $572,000 for roughly 26 new streetlights around Whitehurst Drive. Those funds come from the Skill- man Corridor Tax Increment Financ- ing District, which reinvests a portion of property tax revenues generated from new real estate development, according to the city website. “There’s been lots of e orts to try to keep our lighting system functioning and working, [with] some more e ec- tive than others at di erent times,” McGough said of streetlight improve- ments across Dallas. “I think it’s fair to say this is one of the larger e orts around lighting that I’ve certainly been aware of in my 16-plus years working with the city.” Derrick Battie, community liai- son for South Oak Cli High School, worked as the head of security at the school for 15 years. Battie also served on the mayor’s task force. He said brighter streetlights assist in “blight remediation,” or expos- ing crime by illuminating tradition- ally dim regions of the city. Battie
added the mayor’s task force identi- ed streetlights that have not been replaced by Oncor for about 40 years. “We need solutions. That means we’re going to take these lights down, and we’re going to put these lights up,” Battie said. “We get back into blight remediation: How do you go in and take a spot where maybe drug dealers and gang members meet com- fortably in the dark?” Brian Martinez, public information o cer with the Dallas Police Depart- ment, said brighter lighting boosts public awareness of crime and visibil- ity for drivers to see pedestrians. “Improved lighting plays a big role in public safety,” Martinez said. “Not only does it keep potential o enders away, but new lighting can encourage residents to spend more time in their front yards and thus increase informal surveillance.” State aid The state is also working to upgrade streetlights with LED luminaires, TxDOT Public Information O cer Tony Hartzel said. “LEDs are more e cient than the typical high-pressure sodium lumi- naire heads,” Hartzel said in an email. “They are more cost e ective as they use less power and have a longer life span.” Just over 11% of the 6,889 street- lights that TxDOT owns in Dallas are equipped with LED luminaires, according to the city. Hartzel said although TxDOT owns streetlights, Dallas has “varying degrees of maintenance responsibil- ity.” TxDOT reimburses all mainte- nance costs for streetlights at major interchanges and highway entrance and exit ramp locations, Hartzel said.
SOURCE: ONCOR COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
For longer sections of roadway, TxDOT pays half of power and main- tenance costs. Supply chain shortages and delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic are also impeding upgrades, Hart- zel added. But he said TxDOT will develop upgrade plans once the light inventory in Dallas has been nalized and submitted to the state. “We have begun coordination with the city on upgrades to LEDs on state- owned equipment,” Hartzel said. “TxDOT will either reimburse them for the work, or TxDOT will do it with our in-house contract depending on the circumstances.” The process of making Dallas streets brighter will continue for months to come, according to Khankarli. Look- ing ahead, he said his team is discuss- ing streetlight standards with private developers. The department is also working to update its street design manual this spring. “I think the [bene t] is there,” he said. “We need to continue doing it.” Alexander Willis contributed to this report.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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LAKE HIGHLANDS LAKEWOOD EDITION • MAY 2022
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