SJ Gives Green Light to New Street Lights
San Jose officials say they have seen the light when it comes to improving street lighting. The city is ready to throw the switch to a more efficient lighting system.
Streetlights in San Jose still glare yellow, which means they burn more energy, but the city is now looking at replacing all 62,000 lights with new LED lights.
"By switching to a white light, in the early evening hours we can improve the vision of drivers, folks walking down the streets, and also reduce our energy consumption," said San Jose Sustainability Officer Laura Stuchinsky.
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She says the new LED lights would also give the city more control.
"It gives us more flexibility to light the street at the level it needs to be," said Stuchinsky. "So at peak hours when you need a lot of bright light you have it higher, and during the off-peak hours when there is hardly any traffic there is no reason to have them as brightly lit, you can dim them down."
Currently there are only three cities using these low pressure sodium lights. The city council is expected to take up the issue in September.
