After dark in a new light: Streetlight improvements to begin this year

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The communications department at the Town of Taber continues to excel at making pertinent information clear. As it did during the town vs. city decision, the Town has proactively announced an initiative and answered most of the who, what, when, where, and why questions that residents might have. Just before Christmas, the Town issued a release on its website informing residents that the darkest streets in town will be illuminated in a one-by-one, year-by-year streetlight improvement project.

 In its continual efforts to enhance community safety and accessibility, council approved a phased plan to improve lighting on the town’s streets. The prioritization comes in response to concerns about insufficient lighting, and council moved on the plan to improve safety and visibility while balancing the costs associated with new lighting infrastructure.

 Beginning in 2025, each year’s budget will provide funds to target the most poorly lit locations and those areas will be the first to be upgraded. The Town expects the ongoing project to run an estimated annual cost of $85,000, allowing public works to light five blocks per year. Fortis Alberta, which owns the street lights, along with Taber public works will decide which locations to light each year based upon a municipal study.

 The cost breakdown per year is as follows:

-Infrastructure Costs: $15,000/block (about 3 additional light poles per block) X 5 blocks per year = $75,000

-Power Costs: $105/month for (approx) 3 lights per block = $1,260 X 5 blocks = $6,300

Total Cost: $81,300/ year

-Other Variable Costs: Tree Trimming ($300/tree); Tree removal & replanting ($2,000/tree)

 In 2025, the Town will aim to upgrade three blocks in the south and two in the north of Taber. Though there is no set timeline aside from the year, each year’s work will be completed based on Fortis and the Town’s existing priorities, work projects, and availability. The Town intends to notify any properties along the blocks that are being upgraded with a letter before the work begins.

 As reported by the Times in the spring of 2024, two summer students, Samuel Orwa and Ryan McDonald, collected data in a study to evaluate the quality of the town’s streetlights after dark using a lux meter. The lux meter has a sensor that detects how much light is shining on a surface, like a street or a room. Using the lux meter, the students measured light levels on all the streets in Taber at night. The data showed that many parts of town needed better lighting.

 Due to the fact that the students did a thorough street-by-street study, resident requests for upgrades will not be accepted. Instead, the Town will begin with the darkest streets and work its way toward the next darkest areas, ensuring improvements are made where they are needed most.

 In its announcement, the Town addressed its reasons for why some areas of town have been left in the dark for so long. It said, “Streetlight upgrades hadn’t been done earlier due to a number of reasons, including budget limitations and other Town priorities. Also, in older sections of Taber, the power lines run in the back alley and not underground, which is why it makes it difficult to add extra lights ‘here-and-there,’ and why in some older areas there are only streetlights on poles at the corners of intersections and alleys.”