CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Traffic lights around Los
Angeles County are being replaced, but not in Westwood.
By Sarika Gangar
Daily Bruin Contributor
Red lights in Westwood not only keep drivers waiting, but they
use 10 times more energy than it is necessary to do so.
Due to the ongoing energy crisis, many California counties are
replacing standard traffic bulbs with longer-lasting and more
energy efficient bulbs called light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. Los
Angeles County has gotten a hold of grants to aid in switching to
LEDs ““ but none of this money will be heading to
Westwood.
A $10 million grant offered by the California Energy Commission
to the state would have possibly benefited the Westwood area, but
an application was never filed for L.A. County by its Public Works
Department.
Instead, the PWD took interest in receiving funds from a
Southern California Edison grant.
“We didn’t feel the CEC grant was as favorable as
the SCE grant,” said Ron Ondrozeck of the PWD.
According to Ondrozeck, the SCE grant is financially more
favorable for the county since it reimburses the county more money
per traffic light.
But the funds will only be applied to unincorporated areas of
the county. In addition to the SCE grant, unincorporated areas of
the county will be benefiting from a $700,000 fund that will go
toward switching 5,000 red lights in 418 intersections.
Most of northern L.A. County is composed of unincorporated areas
such as La Crescenta, Castaic and West Pomona, which will receive
funding. Westwood is an incorporated area, meaning it belongs to a
city, and this disqualifies it from receiving aid.
County officials expect to save more than $350,000 a year
through lowered electricity bills due to the LEDs. According to the
CEC, if the entire state switched its four million traffic lights
for LEDs, California would save almost $95 million each year.
Currently, only the red traffic lights are being switched, since
they are lit about 59 percent of the time, compared to 38 percent
of the time for green lights.
With the help of donations from the Department of Water and
Power, new LEDs are also being placed in more than 30,000 orange
and white crosswalk signals throughout incorporated areas of L.A.
County.
“I’m sure we will be installing some in the UCLA
area,” said John Fisher of the Department of
Transportation.
LEDs consume seven watts of energy compared to the standard
bulb’s 69 watts, and they last about five times longer. But
they are more expensive, about $75 and up, than the standard bulbs,
which cost about a dollar or two.
Smaller versions of LEDs are commonly found on stereos in the
form of red standby lights. The traffic light LEDs consist of rows
of these smaller bulbs and possess a honeycomb look to them. The
LEDs burn slightly brighter than the standard bulbs ““ the
only noticeable difference between the two.
The LED’s main advantages lie in their ability to conserve
energy and, since they use battery power, to remain functioning
during power outages.
As for the possibility of LEDs in Westwood, Fisher said there
are no current plans.
“We don’t have any current funding,” he
said.
Changes to Westwood’s traffic lights are underneath the
responsibility of the mayor and the city council.
“The money can only come from the council, not the
county,” said Rob Schlichting of the CEC.
For now, the streets of Westwood will be controlled by standard
bulbs.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.