A Kamloops resident put a notice up in the Sagebrush neighbourhood to request streetlights in the area not be changed to LEDs.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Some residents say new LED streetlights in Kamloops are more like spotlights shining into their bedrooms and now they're fighting to stop B.C. Hydro from completing their retrofits in city neighbourhoods.

The Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association is hearing complaints from residents near downtown that say the new LEDs are just too harsh for their residential streets.

"Many neighbours reached out to say lighting is shining into their bedrooms," association president Chris Ortner said. "Imagine shining a spotlight through your window when for years you didn't — you're gonna have to deal with it."

Nearly half of Kamloops street lights are B.C. Hydro poles, and the Crown corporation was given the go-ahead to convert its municipal lighting last February by the B.C. Utilities Commission. The City currently pays B.C. Hydro around $1 million per year to lease its 4,101 streetlights, which is nearly half of all in Kamloops.

READ MORE: Two in the running for next Kamloops mayor so far

Traditional streetlights use high pressure sodium vapour or mercury, and LEDs are more energy efficient than both. However, the Crown corporation's province-wide plan includes a $2 per month per light increase for lights changed to the brighter LEDs.

According to a letter to the Utilities Commission, City staff inquired why Kamloops taxpayers should pay an additional $80,000 for three years until lights are fully converted, especially since LEDs bring more energy savings.

The letter was presented to Kamloops city council in May 2021, where civic operations manager Jen Fretz also told council the City has little control over the harshness of the light, or whether shields are placed around them to narrow light spread.

READ MORE: Vigil at UBC Okanagan for slain security guard

Fretz was unavailable to answer calls from iNFOnews.ca about any answers the City did or did not receive from B.C. Hydro since the letter was sent.

While the lights are owned by B.C. Hydro, residents with concerns about streetlights are directed to contact the City of Kamloops.

The Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association is calling for a moratorium on the streetlight conversions until residents are consulted about light levels.

READ MORE: Gas prices shoot past $2 a litre in Vancouver

Ortner is concerned about both the impacts on residents in the area and environmental impacts, adding that bright white lights can be confusing for wildlife. Some residents are now taking to putting signs on light poles in a sort of protest.

"People are feeling helpless so they're putting signs on the poles," Ortner said. "It's the only way they have of expressing themselves because there's no interaction with the people installing those lights."

He doesn't believe there is any issue with embracing new technology, especially if it is more energy efficient, but the blaring white lights are not inherent to LED fixtures. B.C. Hydro itself has two options on its website for the converted lights. One is a purer but harsher white, while the other is softer and closer to a traditional incandescent light.

A smattering of lights have been converted so far throughout the Sagebrush area, south of Columbia Street between 6 Avenue and the Battle Street highway exit, but most appear to remain incandescent lighting for now.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022