‘Brighter Birmingham’ lights up the Magic City one neighborhood at a time
LED lighting is being installed throughout Birmingham. (Chris Jones/Alabama NewsCenter)
The city of Birmingham’s streetlight fixtures are being replaced one neighborhood at a time.
So far, nearly 6,700 fixtures have been upgraded in Birmingham communities through a partnership with Alabama Power. The partnership was announced last April, and when “Brighter Birmingham” concludes, nearly 30,000 light fixtures will be upgraded across the Magic City.
[Related: City of Birmingham and Alabama Power work to upgrade lighting to LED]
Alabama Power partners with Birmingham to brighten the Magic City from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Some 99 neighborhoods will reap the benefits of these improvements, which include better lighting quality, greater energy efficiency and reduced maintenance.
City leaders and law enforcement officers point to another possible benefit – reduced crime – since the LED lights more accurately display colors and objects.
The installation plan is moving clockwise around the city’s communities, starting with the western areas. The city center, including City Hall, will receive the last wave of LED streetlight upgrades.
“We initially worked with the city to identify high-crime areas across the city of Birmingham,” said Terrance Moultrie, Municipal Lighting account manager with Alabama Power. “We installed LED lights in these areas first. We then moved into the neighborhoods and are on schedule to complete this project by December of 2018.”
Sunday, in a special program during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Alabama Power will provide an LED lighting update. City and county leaders will join representatives from Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods, as well as organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Urban Impact and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
