Wellington's in the dark but who's responsible for the faulty street lights?
Manners Street in Wellington has five out of six street lamps out, the lights have not been working for 6 months.
A plague of street lighting issues affecting the capital may just be a matter of perception as the dark depths of winter make outages and dim lighting more noticeable, Wellington Electricity chief executive Greg Skelton says.
The problems were not systemic but isolated to certain streets while the perception of the problem may also have been compounded by it being the middle of winter as well as shaping up to be the darkest June in the capital since 1982.
"A dark June will make these issues stand out," Skelton said.
Manners Street in Wellington has five out of six street lamps out, the lights have not been working for 6 months.
People were also getting used to new LED lamps being installed, Skelton said.
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Fixing street light issues was not always straightforward - street lights were owned, installed and maintained by city councils, while Wellington Electricity's role was to connect them to the network, he said.
Lines company Wellington Electricity is owned by Hong Kong magnate Li Ka-Shing, who is the 23rd richest person in the world. (File photo)
Last month some of the new LED lights were made brighter after complaints they were too dim and were enticing criminal behaviour.
Wellington City Council (WCC) spokeswoman Victoria Barton-Chapple said the council was working through the issues with Wellington Electricity at both an operational and strategic level.
Residents could get in touch with the council's contact centre to report any faults by phone, email, text or through the FixIt app.
Manners Street in Wellington has five out of six street lamps out, the lights have not been working for 6 months.
"If they were council related, they are logged with a contractor to be dispatched and assess and fix in the shortest amount of time feasible. If it's a Wellington Electricity issue, we will log it with them to deal with in a timely manner," she said.
Tawa resident Alison Callis said for weeks the northern Wellington suburb had been shrouded in darkness.
"You could not see in front of yourself and driving was a nightmare."
The darkness was a pressing health and safety issue.
"Someone will be hit by a vehicle, domestic pets have already been found dead. Also burglary and crime will be increased due to the ease of access these crims have under darkness."
Hutt City Council traffic asset manager Damon Simmons said the council was responsible for the installation and maintenance of street lights, and some of the structures used to support them, within Lower Hutt.
WELLINGTONIANS THROW SHADE AT THE DARKNESS
The faults have drawn complaints from around the city - a common theme being councils being alerted, not fixing the problem and fobbing it of onto the lines company.
★ "I'm all for LED lights but they haven't got enough of them and they're not bright enough. Some entire streets such as Derwent Street in Island Bay are often in complete blackness with a light dotted every 50 metres or so, also so dim they only illuminate a metre square or so.
"I don't feel as safe walking, cycling or driving, as you often can't see the surface you're travelling on. Then there are side streets, including off Derwent, that seem to have been left in the dark completely."
"I have complained to the council previously when these issues first started to little avail. I feel that they have already decided this is how it's going to be."
★ "I live up the top of Dixon/The Terrace, and two lights up there have been our for months. My car has been broken in to two times while parked under these 'lights'. I think it's because of the lights being out... It's also super scary walking up the Dixon Street path with the lights out."
★ "After reading the article about street lighting chaos I wanted to report faults in Mornington. Most streets lost lighting for over a week early June. Now they have been on 24 hours a day for a couple of weeks. This affects almost all streets in Mornington and several in Brooklyn. I have reported it to the council and I was told the lines are being 'tested'. I think the company owes Wellington an explanation at the very least."
★ "I live in Mornington and the lights on my street Farnham St have been out lots as has most of the Ridgeway from Brooklyn - I've reported it already - it's weeks to get fixed and then they go off again for another chunk of time - but bizarrely in the morning you come out at 7:30 or even 8am and the ones that are working are still lit even thought it's broad daylight- what a complete waste"
"I've been chatting with girlfriends who live in various parts across the city and we all agree it's the worst it's ever been and is now really a big safety issue for us - not just falling on an uneven path but frankly it's pretty scary when it's that pitch black in so many parts of the city."
★ "You can add Buckley Rd in Southgate to the list. We had one repaired recently, after weeks of waiting 'for good weather to do the job,' only to have it die again three days later. It lights up an intersection so it is a safety issue if nothing else. The next light down the road got fixed at the same time, after being out all year. At least that one is still functioning. What is going on here? Slow response times. Ongoing faults. Not good enough."
- Stuff
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