STREET LIGHTING.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17315, 29 November 1921, Page 7

STREET LIGHTING.

—.—*- 4N EXTENDED SCHEME. £10,300 TO BE SPENT. A comprehensive report, upon the present position and future requirements of the city street lighting system was placed before the City Council by the Electricity Committee last /, nicht. f The committeo stated that m vie* of the many complaints regarding street lighting, and the urgency of extensions which had already been postponed for a period much longer than was desirable, the report had wen adopted by the committee. In bringing before the Council a proposal lor the expenditure of £10,300 for street lighting, it was desired to draw attention to the economic soundness of an adequate street lighting system where j power was purchased in bulk on a maximum demand charge, and also to the many directions in which efficientstreet lighting contributed to the. pub]io well-being —from the moral "point of | view—from its assistance to the police, i its necessity with modern motor traffic, and the general contribution it made to the vaJuo of city properties. The work would be spread over several ■roars, and when the whole of the additional installation was completed, the annual charge of £3 each for Gsl lamps, and £4 16s each for 176 lamps, would amount to £27P7, which included lamp renewals, attendance and inspection, maintenance, current and capital charges. The attention of councillors was also directed to the remarks in the report regarding the city bridges, where, a valuable opportunity of enhancing the city's attractiveness had hitherto been unused. Details of the Scheme. The soheme, as adopted by the committee, and sent on to the Council, was formulated by < the reneral mnn- ; ager of the electricity department, Mr E. Hitchoock. who said that the frequent number of requests for additional . street lampa indicated that the city street lighting system had reached the stage at which considerable expansion had become necessary. The growth of the street lighting system in the'past, since the inception of the Lake Coleridge supply, was as follows :- Lamp*. 1916. 1917. IMB. 1919. 1920. 1921. 1000 c.p, Qo 26 29 31 81 31 Ssoc.p. 1U 117 US 123 123 125 100 c.p. 19U 1511 1728 1738 1781 1748 1443 1654 1870 W77 1885 1903 showing an increase of 464 lamps during the period of five years. One of the features of the series street lighting system was that a gradual growth was provided for at any. desired rate up to% certain stage, bul. when that stage was reached, and ; the transformer capacity was fully leaded, it was necessary to re.rn.ode] the ;, system and provide sufficient tranpi capacity for the anticipated ''.gradual development over a further •' period. That stage was reached about . * year ago, but additions were con- ■■-.. tinned, at the expense of the intensity of illumination. ' : i Jo provide for the city's growing re■x quirements, a complete rearrangement , of the city lighting had been pre- < pared. That involved regrouping nil v; the. existing lamps, and allotting the S;A, necessary, future lamps, and arranging ;%' the new circuits thus arrived at for •3 supply from additional transformer sta. /Ifcitions. It would be necessary in the new >|? scheme to install, street lighting trans* j&f. formers at St, Albans Park sub-station, m Montreal street sub-station, and Beckill enhwT .sub-station. The additional H lamps.provided for under the proposed fsohenie totalled, JftJ. . Not only was the ' Bfweht 'liihwng Anadequato in the anmber M lamps,' but it had also been E; -.:.'. ~ diminishing in intensity, as a result of ;ib>. Increase of the number of lamps ;■?;•(-;<S|^'the'- transformer capacity was .'v,M reached. ■ i^l^.X^'oJßmpwra^ri» : '' street lighting WelUngton, Christohurch, K;| and Auokland were as folph'eh. Well's. Aw*. Dun'dn. ,« 1,003 , 9.M0 984 4,869 ..288,550 913,878 68,000 149,000 *?.' '■ JIOJ AM. 418 ilO.i !\, ».7as 3.ts i.a» 1.98s -. however, to the overloading present atreefc. lighting transit was estimated that Christraa at. present receiving only ).p, from ita street lamps, info: 236,550 e.p. at which they i so often the ease, the figures four centres were not directly tie. Wellington's lighting was partly by the electricity de» .■and partly by the fcamways, ikei.*ase of Auckland, it was that,' tb®: city lighting. must ide a number of gas lamps. even when those points were or, the figures were not with* ■esting significance, tal estimated expenditure for naions proposed amounted to and included equipment. It resting to note that, in the Wellington .City, the present .p„ of, street lighting installed «d * capital expenditure of ;The present 236,500 c.p. in* a. Ohristohuroh represented a xpendituro of £20,300. ■oposed additions would bring ml expenditure up to £80,600, Sotal o.p. of lighting to 946,550 *t would give to Christchureh .of being.undoubtedly the best in the Dominion, and where M obtained from hydro-electric-jn a maximum demand toner* were no good grounds for fhtjng being curtailed, oposed additional lamps, c.p. 1 were oompared on the basis )we ; table, as follows: W value .. .. £XQ,so6 '. b« .. .. 827 .per Hmri ~ ' .. £12.5 per candfopower,., , 1.82« » additional expenditure pro- ■ would be necessary to incur 50 per cent, in the initial outbulk of the cost resulting from hase of transformers, new ev, and a comparatively small a being the' actual cost of the be transformers were installed, | uld < be no object in delaying "ation of the lamps over any sriod than was necessary. If d, the work could be comthin two years, and while that matter for decision bv the com- •»" it was recommended that an fmM made to carry out the within that time. lighting the Bridges, rould be noted that an amount loO.was included in the estimate »e lighting of the clly bridges, ty possessed a number of bridgeß, of -which had architectural fea* whioh could be considerably en* I by proper lighting, and even *B. pretentious bridges could be 7 unproved by'being effectively "ted, and it was suggested that that was done, the value that ' ty possessed as an asset in the and its gurroundings, had not wily utilised. Some of the : s were already equipped with Jds for gas lighting, some of ' could be converted and used for i 0 lamps, and in the case of the bridges a great variety of suititandarda -.was now available. vtirMyM *<>* pr<>P«rly Hfibti .the bridgea. Even considering latter from a purely utilitarian ' •araral recant aoodents is **»»

city had drawn attention to the benefit that would accrue in the direction of publio safety, if all the bridges were properly lighted. Tne Council adopted the report. Or. O. W. Hervey said the report should be held over for a fortnight. The Mayor said the work was only to be .carried out gradually ever a period of several years. Or. D. G. Bullivan said the thanks of the whole city were due to the committee for bringing down the report.