An online petition has put a new LED street light installation project on hold in the borough of Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève.
The borough is responding to the more than 150 residents who have signed an online petition calling for a stop of the project.
Danielle Myrand, the resident who started the petition, said the new lights are too bright and white. She compared it to a “car flashing their high beams in your room.”
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She also claims they ruin the aesthetic of the borough.
“We already have light that has a warm glow and we insist on keeping our borough this way because we have a country charm to it that is specific to our borough,” Myrand said.
The central city is installing and converting an estimated 132,000 new LED lights throughout the 19 boroughs in Montreal.
The LED lights are energy efficient and consume up to 60 per cent less than the previous model, according to the city.
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The project was started in 2017. It will take five years to complete and cost $110 million.
Myrand is all for the environmentally friendly lights but wants the street lamps to have more of an orange hue and less of a harsh white.
“They can do the efficient light but they can do it with a warmer tone,” Myrand said.
A possible solution proposed by residents is installing a orange tint over the LED light panel — an idea the borough hasn’t ruled out.
Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève borough mayor Normand Marinacci said he has listened to the concerns and agrees there are good arguments, ones that he will bring to the city officials in charge.
“The main reason we are meeting with residents and the city is to discuss the different solutions,” Marinacci said.
Marinacci and the central city officials will meet to discuss possible solutions in the coming weeks.
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