A city project to replace streetlights in the Heritage subdivision on First Avenue from Tabor Boulevard to Foothills Boulevard will be delayed four to six weeks.
BC Hydro spokesperson Bob Gammer the reason for that is the project requires additional electrical infrastructure that was not part of the original plan.
A story posted Sunday on the citizen website contained incorrect information that was based on an email sent Friday by BC Hydro business account representative Greg Webster to Cheryl Mikulasik, a resident of the area. Webster incorrectly stated that work done over the past three months by the contractor, R.G.N. Contracting of Edmonton, to upgrade electrical infrastructure needed to power the lights did not meet British Columbia standard code requirements and that was the reason the additional time needed to complete the project.
“The work on the streetlights by the City of Prince George contractor does meet the electrical code and there was no code violation,” said Gammer, Monday afternoon.
“The work (still to be done) to connect power to the streetlights requires the replacement of one transformer and one service box, in order to add an additional underground duct for the new service connections to energize the lights. There’s a need to actually put in ducting to simply get the line to where we could hook it up to the streetlights.
“This was more than initially anticipated and has extended the project timeline. BC Hydro and the city are working closely on this project and work is being expedited by BC Hydro, in an effort to energize the new streetlights in the next four to six weeks.”
Residents who have been kept in the dark without streetlights for the past three months reacted with shock when Webster’s email was shared and Gammer explained how that incorrect information was released.
“He just misunderstood some advice given to him in a note from another employee,” said Gammer.
The city’s work on the project is largely complete, according to city communications officer Mike Kellett, and most of the remaining work will be carried out by BC Hydro.
Work began in late July on the $700,000 project to replace 37 streetlamps with brighter energy-efficient LED lights on new aluminum poles and upgrade the underground wiring that connects the lights. That day can’t come soon enough for Mikulasik.
“It’s hazardous because it gets dark early now and people are walking in the dark,” said Mikulasik, who lives on Bauch Avenue, which connects to First Avenue. “It’s very dark and when I’m driving, if there’s no other traffic, I put my lights on high so I can see better.
“Everything seems to be going wrong with this whole project. On Friday I found out they’re closing the road at First and Tabor for a whole month for a water project that starts Monday morning.”
A sign posted on First Avenue confirmed motorists trying to access the Heritage subdivision along First Avenue will have to find an alternate route from Nov.1-30 while crews dig up the street to conduct waterworks repairs. Kellett said that work is unrelated to the streetlight project.
Marg Wilson lives on First Avenue, and she’s appalled she and her neighbours are still waiting for the lights to be turned on.
“I didn’t think we’d be without lights this long and it’s a hazard,” said Wilson. “You have to drive at night with your brights on and you can’t see people on the street and that’s a concern.
”It’s gone on way too long, and what upsets me is, is this going to come back on the taxpayers? Our taxes are high enough and to live without lights for all this time and pay the taxes that people do, I just think it’s wrong.”
Kellett assured that any delays related the project will not cost the city any additional funds. He lives in the neighbourhood and is looking forward to seeing the results of the upgrade, which will mean brighter, better-placed lights and more of them.
“For people in the neighbourhood it’s going to be a vast improvement of lighting and safety along that stretch and due to the complexity of the project, it’s been a long time,” said Kellett. “I appreciate people’s patience on this one.”
The Heritage project is the first of many neighbourhood streetlight upgrades planned for the coming years. The city estimates about 1,000 of its 4,700 streetlights are near the end of their service lives and will have to be replaced. Most of existing streetlights were installed in the 1970s and no longer meet city or provincial electric code standards.
The streetlight project has created a stir ever since it began. Starting in July, First Avenue residents had their lawns dug up to access utility lines and allow concrete work to replace curbs and install wheelchair-accessible corner sidewalks. The Alberta contractor hired a subcontractor to lay new sod on the patches of soil disturbed for the utilities work and homeowners were appalled when the sod was laid in patches on top of existing lawns and the new grass was left sitting noticeably higher than rest of the surrounding grass. Some residents took it upon themselves to dig out the dirt and even out the sod.
“My understanding is the subcontractor is back in town as of last week and he’s doing some touch-ups there and if there’s anything that is frozen or ground that can’t be totally sorted out, he’ll come back in the spring to sort that out,” said Kellett.
City crews began work Monday on the waterworks project to replace a broken water valve at the First and Tabor intersection, and drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are being asked to plan alternate routes during the month of construction. Transit stops on both sides of Tabor Boulevard near McArthur Place will be closed until Nov. 30 and riders are being asked to board the bus at stops north of McKinley Crescent. The bus route will be detoured to Corless Avenue and Allen Avenue.
Residents of the Heritage neighbourhood might experience low water pressure will the work is on progress. Adjacent water valves along Tabor between Fifth Avenue and Otway Road must be shut off during construction and residents and businesses in the area could experience low water pressure until the work in finished at the end of the month.
