After Spending $10 Million On New City Lights Grand Rapids Residents Say They’re Too Bright

If you live in Grand Rapids you may have noticed new city street lights being installed.

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Most people are happy that the new lights are being installed, while others are taking issue with these bright lights.

Why Is Grand Rapids Putting In New Street Lights?

Grand Rapids is in the process of upgrading its street lighting system by installing 18,000 new LED lights.

Pictured above is an old city streetlight. 

Pictured above are the new LED streetlights

This initiative is part of a broader effort to improve energy efficiency, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance safety throughout the city.

The project includes the installation of smart streetlight nodes on top of the luminaries, which feature cutting-edge technology allowing for remote control and monitoring via a cloud platform.

This smart system, developed by the Canadian company Dimonoff, enables the city to dim the lights to save energy and to know exactly when and where a streetlight needs replacement, thus reducing labor costs and extending the lifespan of the lights.

It's estimated that the City of Grand Rapids will save $350,00 per year after all of the new lights are installed.

When Will The New Lights Be Installed?

As of January 2024, the city had already replaced more than 15,000 streetlights and was in the final phase of the project, installing approximately 1,000 LEDs per month in the remaining areas.

Not Everyone Likes The New Lights

While some people in Grand Rapids are happy about the new lights not everyone feels that way.

Ana Wismer told Fox 17 about the old city lights compared to the new LED lights.

"They were really orange before, so it kind of gave this like old-school Mid-Century Modern vibe to the neighborhood, Now they are the surface of the sun bright."

Tara Jo had this to say about the new city lights.

"Less than six months ago, we had a stolen vehicle come down the street. Four kids got out there ran up to all the driveways, checking door handles. They got into a few cars down here and stole some stuff out of there. So we feel like having the lights now. At that time, we didn't, and it may have deterred them a little bit. I don't know. We just feel like it'll keep that criminal activity down."

The new LED city lights are adjustable so if you're dealing with the same issue mentioned above click here and you can contact the city to have them check it out.