In an effort to make unincorporated streets safer, Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) and Southern California Edison (SCE) are working together to begin work on May 26 to replace existing high pressure sodium vapor fixtures with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.
The project, which will take 3-4 weeks to complete, will upgrade 2,400 street light fixtures with new LED lights that have a Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) of 3000K, which exudes a warm white hue that is safer for both people and wildlife.
“SCE is excited to be implementing new LED streetlights in Ventura County that will save energy and cost, and provide improved lighting conditions for residents, drivers, and pedestrians, said Rudy Gonzales, Government Relations Manager at Southern California Edison. “The new lights provide for better vision and safety while still helping to maintain a dark sky environment.”
In addition, the LED lights are much longer lasting and will save in energy and cost while also minimizing light pollution. They are Dark Sky Compliant, which means they direct more light to the ground than the sky.
“Innovation is the watchword of our Ventura County Public Works Agency, as coordination and collaborations such as this with SCE, work together,” said Jeff Pratt, Director of VCPWA. “In this case, by ensuring our unincorporated areas of Ventura County have LED lights that are safer for both people and wildlife, and to minimize light pollution.”
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The lights installed (at the same time as these) in the park areas in Port Hueneme and Oxnard are insufferably too bright. They trespass into our homes adjacent to them, even down the street, hampering our ability to sleep, forcing many of us go to lengths we shouldn’t have to, to block our windows with additional black sheets / blankets. A number of us have respectfully asked our council people to look into it but after three months all anyone has said is “Talk to SCE.” I personally have six of these high power lights flooding my property and said I intend to install an additional 2 feet to my property fencing, to which they said I couldn’t do that either. I looked at the county website but found nothing helpful and no way to address this there either. I, we’d like to know how this can be resolved, by possibly installing a shade on each light to block it from intruding into resident’s homes, or adding motion sensors to turn them on only when necessary… something. Those remedies would not prevent them from doing the intended job, and might even keep this out of the courts, as I see this is a problem all across the country and wouldn’t be surprised if a class action suit were brought if nothing is done.
It’s about time on Ventura Avenue……saving lives.
At dusk the visibility is compromised