Less Lighting . . . a Dim Solution

Ann Arbor hoped to shut off some city lights to save money, but that didn't sit well with residents. Putting in more LED lighting is one solution, but pricing from the utility that owns most of the city lighting has not made that economically feasible.

With Ann Arbor, Mich. facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, the city council earlier this year instructed the city administrator to explore ways to reduce expenses. One recommendation was to ''de-energize'' 1,250 city streetlights, a euphemism to ''turn off'' street lights in ''over-lit'' areas, i.e., where the lighting levels exceed the roadway lighting standards established by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, a metric adopted by Ann Arbor in the 1970s.

The city council liked the idea and approved it. The plan was expected to save the city $120,000 a year. The city council, to its credit, requested a pilot program first. During the summer the city turned off 50 streetlights.

Not surprisingly, resident reaction in those less-illuminated street areas was nearly universal dissatisfaction. Council Member Christopher Taylor told the local media people perceive the street lighting not just a benefit for vehicles, but was associated with pedestrian safety and feelings of safety for the properties.

On Oct. 4, 2010, the Ann Arbor City Council voted 8-0 to cancel the shutoff program.

Ann Arbor spends about $1.45 million a year to light and maintain streetlights. City officials believe they could substantially reduce that cost by installing LED lighting. AnnArbor.com, however, reports that DTE Energy, which owns about 78 percent of the city streetlights, ''has been less than cooperative with the city'' in pricing such change outs. DTE provides gas and electric utility services to 2.7 million Michigan homes and businesses.