Light up Lindbergh

Delegation to the County of St. Paul wants more street lights in Lindbergh

Lindbergh residents Constance Henderson and Kim Saranchuk presented concerns about lighting to the County of St. Paul council on Tuesday, January 9. The delegation requested installation of 15 street lights to improve safety for people living in the hamlet, which is situated in the east of the county, just north of the North Saskatchewan River. The County has deferred the issue until it receives results of an assessment currently underway.

Henderson collected a list of signatures and land locations of residents who would be affected by new lighting, and notified her Councillor, Darrell Younghans, as required by policy, before attending the meeting.

Henderson spoke to concerns about safety. “We’ve been to many Crime Watch meetings, and the police have said ‘light things up. Make it more of a deterrent for criminals who might be in your area.’ I’m kind of a night owl. I’m up two or three times in the night, and I see a lot of stuff that comes through our hamlet at three o’clock in the morning.  Most of the time, because it’s not well lit, I can see the vehicles, but I can’t see the types or the licence plates.”

Henderson and Saranchuk presented a map marked with current and proposed street lights. Currently, there are 10 functioning lights in the hamlet, but there are “some houses with dark areas,” explained Henderson. Saranchuk confirmed that there are 30 – 40 residents in the hamlet, residing in 11 – 12 houses. Younghans noted that “the lights are not distributed well, but there is basically one light per residence.” County Reeve, Steve Upham, observed, “Some of the requested lights are wants more than needs.  I could see 5 or 6 new lights.” He said that the challenge is the number of lights, at an average operational cost of $27.50 per month, as well as installation costs.

When Henderson asked about who pays for the cost of new lights, Upham confirmed that there would not be an added cost to individual residents, but that indirect costs would be incurred as part of the county improvement strategy. He explained that if the community pressed for all 15 lights, there could be local improvement taxes added.

County of St. Paul CAO, Sheila Kitz, confirmed that a study of lighting across the county is currently underway and will include Lindbergh. Kyle Attanasio, Director of Corporate Services said, “It will probably be 12 to 15 months before the study is complete.” Council chose to wait until the study has been presented before taking further steps.