LED Streetlight Project Sheds New Light on Greater Sudbury

The City of Greater Sudbury continues to take proactive steps to address climate change issues and find opportunities to reduce energy consumption at public facilities. The latest initiative involves replacing existing streetlights with energy-efficient LED lights, reducing the municipality’s carbon footprint and creating savings. The project supports City Council’s declaration of a climate change emergency and commitment to the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP).

The project was approved as part of the 2020 Budget process and will see approximately 11,000 lights installed throughout all of Greater Sudbury at a cost of approximately $5.6 million. Once complete, the project is expected to result in over $1 million in energy savings per year. 

The new LED lights have varying intensities of brightness and are selected based on the various types of roadway needs and design standards. Different levels of brightness are installed in areas based on the class of road, the amount of foot traffic, the number of bus stops and traffic signs. For example, streetlights installed in residential areas and the downtown core have a warmer, yellow hue, while streetlights on major roadways, with high traffic and more pedestrians, are a cool white and appear brighter. 

The Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA) has contributed $100 thousand toward the project, which along with the conversion to LED lights, will cover the cost of installing updated decorative light fixtures in the downtown core. 

The project started in late December 2019 with a streetlight assessment followed by design and fixture selection. Installation began in June and is ongoing with the project anticipated to be completed by the end of November. 

An update on the program will be presented to City Council on October 6. 

For more information on the project including an installation schedule, visit https://www.greatersudbury.ca/environment.

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