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                    Street lighting

                    Buildings in China town lit up at night
                    We are working to improve street lighting in the City of Melbourne. Electricity distributors own and maintain the majority of lights, with network charges and service costs paid for by the City of Melbourne.

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                    Sustainable lighting

                    During 2018, in partnership with CitiPower we progressively upgraded all street lighting to LED technology. This lighting upgrade will deliver increased energy efficiency, improved streetscape amenity and increased public safety. Approximately 3700 street lights have been upgraded with LED street lights with smart PE cells. 

                    Smart PE cells will enable the LED street lights to communicate through the existing smart meter network and provide information on the performance of the light and also enable the light to be remotely programmed. Fault reporting will be seamless which will enable timely repairs to be undertaken by the power company. It is envisaged that in the future, other smart city sensor applications will be possible utilising the same or similar communication networks.

                    Good public lighting improves visibility for pedestrians and road users, enhances safety, and helps to create interesting spaces and events. 

                    An environmental management plan is in place for the works and all old lights will be recycled.

                    For details about how we are working to improve public and private external lighting throughout the municipality, see the Public Lighting Strategy 2013.

                    To apply for alterations to public lighting, please visit Apply for alterations to public lighting​.

                    Did you know?

                    Street lights that fail to switch off during the day are known as 'dayburners'.

                    Fixing 10 dayburners saves 14 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year, which is equivalent to the emissions from three average cars.

                    Enha​​​nced safety

                    Protecting Melburnians is our number one priority. Good public lighting improves visibility for pedestrians and road users, enhances safety, and helps to create interesting spaces and events. Melbourne is an overwhelmingly safe city, but there is always more we can do.

                    Parks

                    We’re working with Victoria Police to improve lighting and public safety in Melbourne’s most loved parks. In 2018 we conducted a safety audit of our city’s parks with Victoria Police to identify potential safety improvements. As a result, lighting upgrades to increase public safety have been made at Princes Park, including improvements to lighting around the jogging track, Fig Tree Avenue and Capital City Trail. Improvements have also been scheduled for Birrarung Marr, Enterpr​ize Park, Boathouse Drive and Flagstaff Gardens.

                    For details about how we are working to improve public and private external lighting throughout the municipality, see the Public Lighting Strategy 2013. The strategy outlines issues and objectives, and sets priorities to 2023. The strategy is supported by the City of Melbourne’s Lighting Guidelines.

                    Reporting street lighting issues

                    You can do your bit to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reporting dayburners and other faulty street lights to the relevant electricity distributor. 

                    CitiPower, Jemena and the City of Melbourne are responsible for fixing faulty street lights, depending on where they are located. Refer to the map below to see who you should contact when reporting faulty lighting.

                    Street lighting issues should be reported directly to the relevant provider.

                    Map indicating the companies responsible for street lighting in different areas of the muncipality. Download the PDF for a larger map.
                    View larger map (PDF 325 KB)

                    Faulty street lights – contact information

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