About Stoughton's Street Lighting
Posted: Thursday, October 12, 2017
Stoughton Utilities owns and maintains most street lighting within its service territory. 755 street lights are installed throughout Stoughton and the surrounding townships. 78% of street lights are equipped with 250-watt high pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures, and 22% are equipped with 150-watt energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights (250-watt equivalent). All new street lighting installed utilize LED fixtures.
Street light installation in new developments is funded by either the private developer, or the city or township in which the light is being installed. The addition of a new street light along an existing roadway is funded by either the city or township in which the light is being installed, or the private entity requesting the a new street light. Energy charges to power the street lights are paid by the city or township in which the street light is installed, as well as a monthly charge per-light. Stoughton Utilities funds all maintenance and repair or the street lights.
It is important to note that streetlights are provided solely for the purposes of vehicular and pedestrian safety at intersections, and are not intended to provide uniform lighting of sidewalks or individual properties for security or convenience purposes.
Stoughton Utilities evaluates streetlight locations whenever we participate in electric circuit reconstruction projects, street reconstruction projects, tree canopy removal or trimming projects, and/or whenever we experience an equipment failure at the streetlight location. Appropriate placement of streetlights is determined by the following criteria:- Proximity to street intersections
- Along horizontal curve points in the street
- At vertical grade change points in the street gradient
- Maximum street light separation distances are not to exceed approximately 600 feet
- Placement shall avoid and eliminate redundant street lighting
Individual adjacent residential, commercial or industrial customers are not a consideration when locating, relocating or removing street lights, as private property ingress and egress, private property yard lighting, and private property security lighting are the responsibilities of individual property owners. For private security lighting, we recommend installing motion-activated security lights equipped with energy-efficient LED bulbs on your premises.
If you are aware of a street light that is not functioning properly, would like to request addition of a new street light, or would like to request removal of an existing street light, please contact us.