South Norwalk Task Force looks to brighten Norwalk; official finds many burned-out street lamps

NORWALK — Members of the South Norwalk Comeback Task Force plan to meet with representatives of South Norwalk Electric and Water (SNEW) to discuss the number of street lights out in SoNo.

With the exception of some fixtures along North Water Street, most of the pole-mounted street lamps are maintained by SNEW. The city has borne the cost of their installation, according to officials.

On Tuesday, Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy T. Sheehan gave task force members his assessment of streetscape lighting during a meeting of the panel at the South Norwalk Branch Library.

“On the traffic island fronting on the (Maritime) Aquarium, all of the front lights are out,” Sheehan said. “That’s pretty consistent as you’re walking throughout the entire neighborhood, so I think the first issue is that we need to work with SNEW on is getting the lights lit that we have, and then understanding what our level of need is relative to replacement.”

Dave Sigworth, spokesman for The Maritime Aquarium, said later Tuesday that Aquarium officials believe the traffic island where the light poles are located “is the city’s, and thus those lights are serviced by SNEW.”

John M. Hiscock, SNEW general manager, expressed doubt about the magnitude of burned-out street lamps as well as who bears responsibility for the lights at the front of The Maritime Aquarium.

“There are lights out here and there,” Hiscock said. “I believe (the Aquarium lights) are not SNEW lights — they’re sort of a whiter light. I assume they’re parks and rec(reation), or The Maritime Aquarium. No one has approached us formally, but it’s my understanding those are not our lights.”

Hiscock attributed the outage of roughly a half-dozen street lamps on the north side of Washington Street to construction work related to The SoNo Pearl at 99 Washington St. He said the lights were restored with the cooperation of the contractor.

Improving street lighting is among the issues the task force has discussed since its formation by Mayor Harry W. Rilling last December.

Task force members hope to provide brighter lighting and lower the electric bill for pole-mounted street lights on SoNo arteries such as Ann, Monroe, Marshall, Washington and North and South Water streets.

As part of that discussion, they have considered replacing standard street lights with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, which emit a brighter, whitish light and use less power.

Sheehan told task force members Tuesday, however, that a lighting consultant engaged by the Redevelopment Agency determined that moving to LED light fixtures would prove costly.

“There was a recognition that there is significant cost savings that ultimately would result from the LED lights,” Sheehan said. “But the issue with that, again, is that there is a very, very significant upfront cost that would have to be borne in doing the transfer over. The initial estimate, I believe, was $1,500 a light.”

Sheehan said replacement of the lighting would require replacing not only the lamps, but also the wiring and fixtures. He said the city might wish, as an intermediate step, to replace individual street lamps with metal-halide lamps, which produce a brighter light but cost less money to install than LED fixtures.

Hiscock said SNEW would not object to installation of new lighting in SoNo. He noted that the city and SNEW worked together to incorporate LED lighting as part of the Cedar Street improvement project.

“We’re certainly willing to meet with anyone who wants to discuss the lighting situation in detail,” Hiscock said.

South Norwalk Task Force looks to brighten Norwalk; official finds many burned-out street lamps