Bright future for Hauraki District

Most street lights in the Hauraki district will be converted to LED lights in the coming months. File photo.

The future looks brighter than ever for Hauraki District thanks to a funding boost from the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Over the next few months most street lights in the district will be converted to new state-of-the-art LED lights.

Exceptions include state highways, which are maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency, and some higher use local roads which require specialised light types and design.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is co-investing in the project as part of its national programme to provide an 85 per cent subsidy to local councils upgrading to more efficient lighting in the 2017/18 financial year.

Hauraki District Council engineering services group manager Adrian de Laborde says there are many benefits to installing the new lights.

'LED lights last up to six times longer, use less electricity and cost less overall to maintain. The lights also provide better visibility which makes them safer for vehicles and pedestrians, while reducing light pollution substantially at the same time.”

In Whiritoa, road lighting in general is being assessed, along with the LED upgrade.

Adrian says road lighting in the area is due for review and the council is seeking feedback from the community on how well positioned the current lighting is and where additional lighting might be needed from a road safety perspective.

'The locals will have a better idea than we do of which intersections might have street signs that don't stand out well at night, or places where pedestrians might be difficult to spot due to dim or non-existent lighting, so we're really keen to chat with the community about this.”

Council staff will be available to discuss the issue at the upcoming `We Need to Talk' event at the Whiritoa Emergency Management Centre from 12.30pm to 2.30pm on Thursday.

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