Drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists in Shoreline have safer roads at night, now that Seattle City Light has completed the conversion of streetlights on arterial roads to energy efficient LED technology.

City Light’s contractor, Potelco, replaced 721 cobra head light fixtures on Shoreline’s arterial streets. The work was completed Jan. 24. Switching to LEDs (light emitting diodes) cuts the amount of energy used and lowers maintenance costs considerably, which will mean significant savings for the city.

This is a street with the old high-presure sodium streetlights

Here’s that same street after its streetlights were converted to LEDs.

LEDs improve street visibility with better light quality that enhances depth of field and peripheral vision without distorting color. 

Arterial streetlight conversions to LED fixtures began in 2013. Crews are currently working on streetlights between Denny Way and 65th Street. Recent completed projects include the West Seattle Bridge, the White Center Business District and the Cascade Neighborhood. Seattle City Light plans to convert all 34,400 arterial streetlights in its service territory to LED lights in the next several years, increasing nighttime visibility and saving on maintenance and replacement costs.

City Light also finished the conversion of all 41,000 residential streetlights in its service area to LEDs this past fall, a year ahead of schedule. The cost savings are estimated at $2.4 million annually.