More light for streets

A number of new street lights will be installed around Forbes over the next few years as part of Forbes Shire Council’s revised Street Light Installation Program which was adopted at the May meeting.

York Street is first on the list and will receive two new street lights this financial year, followed by the installation of two new lights in Kent Street in 2016/17.

Council will be advising residents of John Girdham Place that they have allocated to install a new street light in the 2017/18 financial year.

This follows a request from residents of John Girdham Place to install additional lighting in the street to help deter some of the criminal activity that has been taking place in the area recently.

Residents advised council that their street is very dark at the end of the cul-de-sac and with new unit complexes being built there, new lighting was needed.

Council has an annual budget of $20,000 for the installation of street lights, so have a priority list for those most urgent.

However since the priority list was developed a few years ago, new developments have occurred in John Girdham Place, York Street and Kent Street, making those streets more of a priority.

There are 27 street lights on the priority list, and with only a couple of lights being installed each year, it could potentially take up to 13 years for those at the bottom of the list to come to fruition.

At the May council meeting Cr Chris Roylance asked if it was possible to speed up the process.

“By the time we get to number 27, it’s about 12 years away,” he said.

“Is there any way we can bring that program forward? It’s just taking too long.”

Council’s director of engineering and technical services John Zannes said his department can look into what grants are available to assist the funding of the lights program.

Acting general manager Max Kershaw suggested looking into alternative technologies such as solar power instead.

“Every time you put another street light on, you’re compounding that problem,” he said.

Cr Dennis Booth agreed and said it might be a good opportunity to get Vast Solar involved.

Councillors agreed it would be a good idea to look into solar power for the future.

Source: Forbes Advocate

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