TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kristoff Bauer, Deputy City Manager
FROM: Lee Jernigan, P.E., City Traffic Engineer
DATE: October 1, 2018
RE:
Title
Update for Unified Street Light Plan - Target For Action
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal 1: Safe and Secure Community
Target for Action: Develop a unified street lighting plan
Executive Summary:
The Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance was last updated by City Council on April 8, 2013 and during Council’s FY 2019 Strategic Planning Retreat they identified a TFA for a Unified Street Light Plan. Staff is seeking feedback on actions taken.
Background:
City Council’s FY 2019 Strategic plan included a Target For Action (TFA) in Goal 1: Safe and Secure Community, to develop a unified street lighting plan. The City’s Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance outlines that the City shall pay for street lighting service along thoroughfares.
Currently, there are four (4) energy providers within the City limits that provide street lighting along our thoroughfares. These providers are PWC, Duke Energy, South River EMC, and Lumbee River EMC. City staff requested mapping of existing thoroughfare street lights provided by each utility. Staff has received this information and combined it into an overall citywide thoroughfare street light map. After review of this map, staff has identified locations without thoroughfare street lights and begun to develop a prioritized list based on factors such as traffic and pedestrian volume, accident history, crime, constructability/cost, land use, and speed limit. Currently, staff has identified approximately 58 miles of thoroughfares without street lights. Staff has completed capital construction and monthly operating cost estimates. Staff is working to complete the project prioritization matrix and is also reviewing the Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance for any revisions to present to Council.
Issues/Analysis:
In accordance with Chapter 24, Article X. - Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance, the City shall pay for street lighting service for thoroughfares or other areas that fail to meet the availability requirement of utility tariffs.
The process to install thoroughfare street lights requires City staff to identify locations and contact the appropriate energy provider to design installation plans and determine cost estimates for both capital installation costs and monthly operating costs. These designs should be in accordance with standards outlined by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for street lighting as defined in the most current edition of a publication titled RP-8.
Budget Impact:
In accordance with the Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance the City is responsible for capital costs for initial construction, and monthly operating costs of thoroughfare street lights. Initial estimates determined by staff to complete all 58 miles of lights along unlit thoroughfares would include an additional $2.2 million in capital costs and $46,000 in monthly, $552,000 in annual operating costs. Requests for budget to construct and operate these projects will be made in future CIP budget years.
Options:
• Accept the update on the TFA for a Unified Thoroughfare Street Light Plan
• Reject the update on the TFA for a Unified Thoroughfare Street Light Plan and provide further direction to staff.
Recommended Action:
This item is for discussion purposes.
Attachments:
Overall Citywide Thoroughfare Street Light Map, Draft Cost Estimate and Prioritization Matrix, Uniform Street and Thoroughfare Lighting Ordinance