New Lights ‘turn green’ in CF

Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau gets a lift in a bucket truck Wednesday morning at the intersection of Lonsdale Avenue and West Hunt Street to demonstrate how new LED traffic signal bulbs fit into the traffic lights to replace the old incadescent bulbs.

Thanks to a partnership with the state Department of Transportation, the city of Central Falls should be seeing a substantial savings on its electric bill without turning off any lights.

Mayor Charles Moreau announced Wednesday that the city is installing new high quality Light Emitting Diode (LED) traffic signal lights throughout Central Falls. The city has partnered with the DOT in a program designed to replace unreliable and obsolete incandescent traffic signals with the LED signal lights.

Moreau said that the DOT has given the city 387 LED traffic signals which will be installed by the Central Falls Public Works Department. “These units are $150 per unit, saving the city $58,050 if we had to purchase them,” said Moreau.

The mayor added that the initial request from the city was to replace the traffic lights on the major roadways in the city that are considered “state roads,” which include Lonsdale Avenue, Broad Street and Dexter Street. However, he said that when Joe Nield, the city’s Public Works Director, explained the city’s financial situation, he was able to to secure all 387 traffic lights needed for the entire city.

Moreau added that one of the major advantages of the high-tech LED lights is that they use 80 to 85 percent less electrical power than the halogen lamps that were previously in place. “We expect this to show in a large reduction in the city’s electrical bill,” stated Moreau.

“I have been committed to saving the city money while promoting opportunities the city has to be an environmentally friendly community. This partnership with the state will allow us to continue to save money wile continuing down the path to becoming a green community,” added Moreau.