City of Bend begins converting to LED street lights

Starting next week, the city of Bend will begin converting over 2,000 existing public street lights to 3,000 Kelvin energy efficient, light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, a move aimed at reducing energy costs, maintenance costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

The project replaces existing high-pressure sodium street light fixtures on public streets with new LED fixtures, and is one of several Strategic Energy Management projects happening in 2019-2021 to help achieve the City Council Climate Action Goals, the city said in Wednesday’s announcement.

The LED conversion project is scheduled to continue until December. Work activity will take place during weekdays and may include weekends. Work hours will generally be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., targeting evening hours for arterial and collector streets.

Multiple crews will be working to complete an estimated 30 to 40 fixture conversions per day, taking 20 to 30 minutes per light, officials said.

The work will be performed in a moving operation that may require temporary traffic lane restrictions.

While crews are working, the sidewalk, bike lane, or curbside parking spaces located adjacent to the work site will be temporarily restricted, and in limited cases lane closures may occur. The crews do not typically need to turn off the power to perform the work, officials said.

The city estimates converting street lights to LEDs will achieve a total energy savings of nearly 1 million kilowatt-hours annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 619 tons per year.

Additionally, maintenance costs are reduced, because LED fixtures do not have disposable components requiring regular replacement, like the existing high-pressure sodium bulbs.

For more information about the LED street light conversion project, including an interactive map to track the progress of the conversions, a fact sheet and list of frequently asked questions, visit www.bendoregon.gov/streetlights.