The Crossfield and District Community Centre is getting a safety uplift after council granted funding at its May 17 regular meeting for the addition of three extra LED lights.
Councillor Jo Tennant directed administration to look at costs of improved lighting because she said the dark patches and lack of vision make the walk to a vehicle dangerous, especially in winter with the danger of black ice.
“That corner is pitch black,” she said. “It absolutely has to be better lit.”
Chief Administrative Officer Ken Bosman said FortisAlberta proposed the existing three poles be installed with an additional light. The LEDs will cost the Town an upfront cost of $4,211 and about an additional $60 per month on the electrical bill.
Deputy Mayor James Ginter said he would have liked to see a more in-depth quote on the possibility of installing solar lights, which Bosman estimated would cost about $6,000 per light to install.
Mayor Nathan Anderson said though he is all for energy efficiency, he believed solar hasn’t arrived yet in terms of adequately providing for the Town as a streetlight.
“We’re talking about putting lighting in as an investment for safety,” he said. “For reasons on those lines, we don’t want to mess around and not light it properly because we’re trying to be environmental.”
He said LEDs were a smart middle ground for Crossfield, as they are capable of putting out a lot more light for a lot less energy.
“To me, that makes sense,” Anderson said
Not shying entirely away from the concept and implementation of alternative energy, he noted change doesn’t happen unless it is pushed.
If the Town wanted to experiment with alternative energy projects, like wind or solar, it would need to do it in a small, one-off way that could include a partnership with a school or a library where the public’s safety is not a critical component.
“It could be a bit of an experiment and opportunity to show leadership and to show that we believe in the future as well,” Anderson said. “We’re not there yet, to roll it out en masse to everything, but we acknowledge that the future is going to be alternative energies at some point.”
Bosman pointed out a weakness in the application of battery-powered solar streetlights in Alberta due to our cold winters.
The battery capacity is about 80 to 85 per cent less efficient in -40 C temperatures than it would be at 0 C, which he said is problematic with Alberta’s unpredictable winters.
“Batteries get dramatically less efficient the colder it gets as anyone in Alberta would know when they try to start their car (at) 40 below,” Bosman said. “LED is a no-brainer.”
