Things in the village are about to get brighter. The Village of Westbury board of trustees will soon be commencing a new infrastructure improvement project to convert all existing street light fixtures to brighter, cost-saving and energy-efficient LED bulbs. Beginning this month, the village will start to retro-fit the majority of its 1,258 existing street light fixtures.
The conversion upgrade of existing inefficient fixtures to LEDs throughout the village will result in cost-savings, brighter and more energy-efficient street lighting requiring less maintenance. This capital improvement project is anticipated to be completed over the next several years.
Over the next several months, all areas north of the Northern State Parkway will be converted through a $100,000 grant the village received through Senator Elaine Phillips’ Office. In addition, $50,000 to $60,000 from the New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funding will be used to convert all lights on Post Avenue to LEDs this summer.
While many of the fixtures will be converted by using a conversion kit, a number of fixtures that are broken or older will have to be replaced.
According to the U.S. Energy Department, LED bulbs are six to seven times more energy efficient than conventional incandescent lights and cut energy use by more than 80 percent. A good quality LED bulb can have a useful life of 25,000 hours or more, 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs.
Village Mayor Peter Cavallaro said the LED conversion typically saves ratepayers approximately 40 percent in electric costs, so when completed, the village estimates an annual savings of $50,000 to $60,000.
“This project continues our efforts to upgrade all of our village infrastructure,” said Cavallaro. “We’ve done extensive roadwork, drainage repair and other projects over the past several years. This LED conversion project will not only allow us to reduce our energy and maintenance costs, but will provide better lighting in our community and promote public safety and road safety.”
LED lights aren’t the only improvement residents will see along Post Avenue in the near future. In addition to LED lights, money from the DRI grant will also be used for new trees, benches and bike racks. Sidewalks will also be expanded in certain intersections to provide increased walkability and pedestrian safety.
