LOS ANGELES, Calif.–Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the completion today of a five-year effort to convert all of the city’s traffic lights and pedestrian signals from incandescent bulbs to LED lights.
Villaraigosa said the LEDs are about 85 percent more efficient than traditional lights, and the conversion will save the city about $4 million annually.
“The LED conversion of every city traffic signal is another step toward making our city greener and more energy efficient,” Villaraigosa said, adding that the project was finished on time and under budget.
The city also is in the midst of converting 140,000 of its about 210,000 street lights to LEDs. That project is being financed by a $40 million loan by the Department of Water and Power. Once the loan is paid back, city officials expect that the new lights will save about $10 million a year.
The mayor also announced the completion today of a traffic light synchronization program in San Pedro. The $7.3 million Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control project, which monitors traffic conditions and changes signals in real-time, linked 64 intersections and added 17 new left-turn arrows in the harbor area.
San Pedro is the tenth ATSAC project area to come online, bringing the total number of synchronized intersections to 3,823.
The synchronization is being funded by $150 million in money from Proposition 1B, which California voters approved in 2006 to fund traffic reduction, highway safety and improved air quality.
“LED conversion and signal synchronization are just two ways LADOT is helping to move LA forward and make the city greener,” Department of Transportation assistant general manager John Fisher said.
