Streetlighting
To report a street light outage, please visit http://www.mypoweroptions.com/lightsout/
Street Light Plan Brochure Street Light Application
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1. INTRODUCTION |
In an effort to provide options and information to the residents and businesses of Cottonwood Heights, the City Council has adopted this street lighting policy. This pamphlet is intended to assist you in understanding the policies and procedures related to street light installation and maintenance in your neighborhood or business district.
In Chapter 3 of the Cottonwood Heights General Plan, the City has established goals to provide for an efficient and safe transportation network. These goals are:
Goal 1 - Provide a safe and pleasant environment for pedestrians. (Page 3-2)
Goal 2 - Provide residents with transportation choices and convenient alternative modes of travel. (Page 3-3)
Goal 3 - Manage the City’s road network to balance access, mobility and safety. (Page 3-4)
Adequate and functional lighting of sidewalks, pedestrian crossing and streets are a significant aspect in meeting the goals as established in the General Plan.
This street light plan is intended to be used in a compatible manner with existing land uses. Defining lighting policies and design issues will help the public, developers and City officials address questions and issues related to street lighting.
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2. STREET LIGHTING IN GENERAL |
Lighting serves many purposes. To many people, public street lighting goals are seemingly achieved by installing brighter or additional lights. However, harmful or negative effects of lighting such as glare, truant light, and reduced visibility of the night sky are often overlooked. Lighting technology has evolved tremendously in recent years. There are now more light resources, fixtures, poles and materials available. There is also much interest in the use of decorative light poles with underground wiring along with recognition of street lighting as an important daytime as well as evening urban design element.
Addressing the environmental issues of lighting design is seen as critically important to maintaining quality of life in neighborhoods. These issues go beyond the amount of light produced and include minimizing light pollution, enhancing the urban environment during the day by the use of decorative poles and fixtures and at night by the provision of pedestrian level light, deterring undesirable or illegal activities, increasing safety, restricting unwanted truant light onto private property and minimizing glare, power consumption, cost and visual impacts (day and night).
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3. EXISTING CITY LIGHTING CONDITIONS |
Much of the existing street lighting in the City is provided by luminaries (sometimes referred to as “cobra head” street lights) installed at a height of between 25 feet to 30 feet above the ground and usually attached to existing utility poles. This lighting pattern is effective for the roadway, but not always effective for pedestrians due to shading by trees and the difficulty in providing uniform lighting along sidewalks. The spacing of these lights is sometimes inconsistent as it is dependent on the spacing of existing utility poles. The remaining lighting in the City consists of lamp posts. There are various design varieties of these lamp posts. These are found primarily in newer neighborhoods.
The Cottonwood Heights Capital Facility Plan addresses street lighting in Chapter 6. The Capital Facilities Plan can be found on the City website at www.cottonwoodheights.utah.gov. This plan illustrates the results of a street lighting survey completed in 2005 which identifies some form of lighting on about 60% of our City streets. All of the City’s major collectors and arterials are lit. About 50% of the City’s residential and minor collectors have street lighting.
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4. CRIME PREVENTION AND STREET LIGHTING |
The City is committed to utilizing street lighting and the lighting of public places to enhance security and prevent crime. The City will continue to add lighting and enhance visibility in critical public areas where traffic and public safety issues exist within the constraints of the annual City budget.
Cottonwood Heights encourages its residents to use private property lighting techniques to help discourage and prevent crime. Effective private property lighting along with City installed and maintained street lights can be an effective tool to prevent crime. The City will continue to monitor new outdoor lighting products and post this information on the City web site.
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5. STREET LIGHT STYLES & PLACEMENT |
The City installs and requires new developments to install the following styles of street lighting:
Collector and Arterial Streets Local Streets
Cobra head light arms and poles: Where there is existing overhead power lines and wood utility poles, the City will permit the attachment of cobra head light arms to the wood poles. This style of lighting will only be permitted to address lighting needs at intersections, end of cul-de-sacs or for specific traffic safety issues.
General Pole Placement: Street light poles can represent a roadside hazard if located improperly. All new street light poles in areas with sidewalk abutting the street curb shall be located behind the sidewalk in a location between the sidewalk and right-of-way line. All new street light poles in areas with a planting strip between the sidewalk and curb are encouraged to be located behind the sidewalk, but may be located in the planting strip if there is a high back street curb and if there is at least 18 inches lateral clearance between the face of curb and nearest side of pole.
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6. CITY FUNDED STREET LIGHTING PROJECTS |
General Policy: Cottonwood Heights installs and maintains street lights on all major collectors and arterial streets. In addition, the City maintains lighting at all intersections, end of cul-de-sacs when the cul-de-sac is over 300 feet in length and in some instances mid block when the block is more than 600 feet in length. The City also installs lighting in various areas where the City, at its sole discretion, determines there is a particular traffic or pedestrian issue that requires illumination for safety reasons. Requests for street light installation at the locations listed above are subject to available funding and the availability of existing power. The City typically will not fund projects which require extensive trenching and installation of power lines.
The City does not retrofit or replace existing lighting system. Over time various different lighting systems have been installed in neighborhoods through out the City, some of which are no longer serviceable primarily due to age. If a lighting system needs to be replaced in a neighborhood, residents in that area should review Section 7 of this policy. These projects are considered by the City to be neighborhood funded street lights. Upon application, the City may consider installing City funded lights at various intersections and other locations in these retrofit/replacement areas as per the guidelines in Section 6.
Private Streets: Only publicly owned streets are eligible for street lighting funded by the City. Lighting on private streets, alleys and driveways are not eligible for public funding; however, they may be illuminated by abutting property owners at their expense. Care should be taken to assure truant light does not become a nuisance to neighboring property owners who are not part of the private lighting project.
Lighting in new subdivisions and developments: All new subdivisions and developments are required to place utility lines underground. This includes electric power lines for street lighting in underground conduit. All costs for this work are borne by the development owner. The lighting levels, poles and fixtures used shall meet the city design standards and requirements. The spacing and location of the light fixtures will be determined by an engineered lighting design and approved by the Cottonwood Heights Public Works Department.
Lighting along reconstructed streets: Desiring to minimize construction impacts to neighborhoods and overall costs, street reconstruction projects within Cottonwood Heights shall include the installation of underground conduit for street lighting, when practical. It is desirable to upgrade the lighting, if needed, at the time of street reconstruction. In cases where this is not practical, underground conduit with appropriately placed access boxes shall be installed to facilitate future lighting.
HOW DO I REQUEST A CITY FUNDED LIGHT AT A SPECIFIC LOCATION IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD?
Process: Included with this pamphlet is the Cottonwood Heights Street Light Installation Application. Based on available funding, the City will review these requests and install lights based on the following requirements and conditions:
The light must be requested at one of the following locations:
- An intersection
- Mid-block when 600 feet from any other existing light
- On a collector or arterial street (spacing at 300 feet)
2. The requested light will improve traffic safety for a specific road condition and/or safety related problem
3. The street light is at the end of a cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac must be at least 300 feet in length to be considered for a street light.
4. Overhead or underground power must be present at the location the street light is requested.
It is critical to follow the application process. It is the applicant’s responsibility to survey all property owners within 300 feet of the proposed street light. This is especially important if the proposed location of the street light is not on the applicant’s property. A majority of neighbors (over 50%) must approve of the installation of a street light before consideration for approval can be given.
Time frame for street light installation: Once a complete street light application is submitted, please allow 2 to 3 weeks for review. If the location is approved, typically installation time is 2 to 4 months depending on availability of light poles and fixtures. Budget constraints may cause an installation delay of up to one year.
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7. NEIGHBORHOOD FUNDED STREET LIGHTING PROJECTS |
The Cottonwood Heights City Council has decided that neighborhoods should choose how and if they want to light their specific areas. Many neighborhoods desire and currently benefit from street lighting while others would rather not have traditional street lighting.
The City does not have a program to light entire neighborhoods nor does the City budget permit funding for extensive neighborhood lighting projects. However, the City does provide various tools to assist neighborhoods who desire to install lighting. The following are some of the available tools:
Neighborhood Self Lighting: This is a grassroots effort by a neighborhood to self-fund street light fixtures and installation costs. Once the neighborhood has provided the requisite funding the City will organize the installation of the lights, pay the monthly power bill and provide ongoing maintenance. In certain instances and based on available funding, the City may be able to participate in the lighting project by providing lights at all intersections. If this request will be for more than a few lights it will need to be budgeted well in advance, typically up to 12 months.
Use of existing Utility Poles: If there are existing overhead power lines in your neighborhood, it might be possible to use these lines and utility poles to install a cost effective system using cobra head light arm fixtures. This type of system has very limited design options and, as mentioned, could require overhead power lines.
Private Property Lighting: There are a variety of light fixtures and poles that can be installed by individuals on their property that can be effective in lighting and delineating the street. Electricity for these fixtures can be provided by the homeowner and they typically have a low maintenance cost. To find out more information on this type of lighting contact:
Holophane Lighting, www.holophane.com,
Illuminator Lighting, www.illuminatorwholesaler.com,
Main Street Lighting, www.mainstreetlighting.com.
City staff is always available to look at your specific neighborhood and provide possible options.
Time frame to complete a neighborhood lighting project: Neighborhood lighting project can be done fairly quickly (3 to 4 months), depending on the motivation and support of a neighborhood. If a neighborhood would like the City to consider participating in the project, the Public Works Department requires approximately 3 months to review the project. If the project is approved by the City Council, funding is appropriated in the City budget for the next fiscal year with begins each July. Participation by the City is always contingent upon available funding and the public infrastructure needs of the City in a given year.
HOW DO I ORGANIZE AND REQUEST A NEIGHBORHOOD FUNDED STREET LIGHTING PROJECT?
If a neighborhood is interested in providing funds for a lighting project or would like the City to participate in a neighborhood lighting project, contact the Community Development Director to set up a meeting. The Community Development Director will discuss options including the scope of the project, design and style of lights, cost projections, project feasibility, and the funding process as it relates to the City budget cycle.