- April 22, 2024
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Palm Coast will also be the pilot city of Florida Power & Light’s LED program.
Palm Coast will soon remove 41 redundant street lamps throughout the city, a move that will save $4,572 a year, officials said Tuesday.
Earlier this year, while the city was assembling a citywide street-lamp geographic information system, staff noticed a pattern of redundant lights. Research found that 51 of the city’s 2,876 street lamps are no longer needed, according to a presentation at the Feb. 28 Palm Coast City Council workshop. Ten of the 51 lamps have already been removed as part of capital improvement projects in the past year.
The city puts up street lamps at every intersection of each arterial and collector street. A redundant lamp is one that remains after a new lamp has been installed as part of a new continuous system. The city has continuous street lighting on several roads, including Palm Harbor, Matanzas Woods, Belle Terre and Royal Palms parkways.
Removing the lights will save the city about $381 a month. The total cost of the project will be $15,444. The city will see a return on its investment in 3.38 years, according to Don Schrager, stormwater system specialist for the city.
Some residents have pointed out on www.PalmCoastObserver.com that the city could simply turn those redundant lamps off and save the removal costs. But City Manager Jim Landon said it’s a safety hazard to have unneeded poles in the right of way. In addition, part of the monthly cost accounts for the equipment itself; the fixtures are owned by Florida Power & Light.
City staff plans to request that FP&L hold the redundant equipment in reserve for future needs.
Landon also announced Tuesday that Palm Coast has been selected to be the pilot city of FP&L’s LED program.
“Because we have been so squeaky, they have offered to use Palm Coast as the pilot program,” Landon said, adding that the city hopes the 20 lights go along Palm Coast Parkway.
“The LED lights use considerably less energy and their life expectancy is significantly longer,” Mayor Jon Netts said.
