Streets will have dim view
Cost-cutting effort to switch off lights
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The streets of Belmont will be darker this fall, and it's not because Daylight Saving Time is coming to an end.
In a cost-saving measure, the town will shut off two-thirds of its 2,400 street lights - most of them along side streets. Lights will remain on along main roads, and at the town's 10 most dangerous intersections, crosswalks, parking lots, business districts, and bus stops, said Assistant Town Administrator Jeffrey Conti.
"The smaller the road, the less likely the lights will remain on," he said.
Residents at the spring Town Meeting approved a cut in the municipal light budget, forcing the town to look at ways to save. Since then, officials have been looking at each light in town to assess which can be turned off without seriously affecting public safety.
Conti said Town Administrator Thomas Younger is expected to present details of the plan at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Tuesday.
Last week, Selectman Daniel Leclerc said he doesn't like the idea of shutting off street lights but he supports it as a way to cut costs.
"I'm not feeling good about it, but it's a sacrifice we had to make," he said. "It's probably one of the least painful things we can do."
Conti said it will cost the town about $27,700 in labor to manually shut off the lights, but the town is expected to save $178,120 for the year. It's not clear when the lights will go; Conti said it could be soon.
Timothy Richardson, manager of the Belmont Municipal Light Department, which supplies the town's electricity, said he opposes the plan. He said he doesn't think it's in the public's best interest and is expecting a huge outcry from residents concerned about public safety.
"There will be areas of town in the dark," Richardson said. "I anticipate there will be a flood of calls. We'll take a lot of flack for this. The community expects a certain level of service."
Leclerc said he also anticipates complaints once the town releases details about the plan.
"I know I like to live someplace where there are sidewalks and street lights," he said. "That's why I live near the city and not out in the country. But it's all about choices."
Richardson said once the town gives the go-ahead, the light department will post a map online and take out an advertisement in the local newspaper, showing which lights will go out.
It will take one to two weeks for workers to disconnect the electricity to specific poles, Richardson said. He said the bulbs will not be taken out in case the town wants to turn the lights back on at some point. He also said residents will have the option of adopting a light for about $15 a month.
Belmont isn't the only Massachusetts community taking steps to reduce electricity costs by turning off street lights. Representatives for National Grid and
Northbridge, Barre, and Winchendon are among the communities that have turned off lights, said David Graves, a spokesman for National Grid. He said Massachusetts is the only state in New England that allows communities to temporarily shut off street lights.
Dartmouth has turned off some of its lights, while Freetown and Yarmouth are considering the option, according to Michael Durand, a spokesman for NStar.
"It's a brand new option," Durand said. "It's one we'll make available if a town wants to pursue it."
NStar and National Grid allow residents to pay for their own street light. The average cost for one street light in National Grid communities is about $90 a year; the cost in NStar communities starts at about $120 a year.
The Town of Shirley is expected to soon join the list of communities opting for fewer street lights after the town cut its light budget by $3,500 this fiscal year, representing a 12 percent reduction, said Town Administrator Kyle Keady.
No action has been taken yet to turn off lights, but Keady said it's inevitable. "Some lights will need to come out, or we'll run out of money," he said.
Keady said the town has been slow to turn off lights because there has been some concern over public safety.
In 1991, the town turned off 67 percent of its lights and saved 50 percent in the light budget, he said; the question now is how many more lights can go without jeopardizing safety.
But the town had to do something to make up a budget deficit, Keady said. In addition to cutting costs on lights, the town is seeking a Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limit override on Sept. 9 for school and general government expenses.
The nearly $730,000 override, however, will not affect the light budget, he said.
Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com. 
