City Council Transport and Infrastructure Manager Brad Singh says the failures of the fittings presents a clearly unacceptable danger to the public – and his staff are working hard to identify street lamp fixtures where the fittings need to be replaced.
“We’re really sorry that this is happening – we don’t want people worrying about what’s above their heads when they’re out walking or driving – so we’re focusing on this issue as a matter of urgency.”
He is also urging members of the public to call the Council on 04 499 4444 if they spot any street lamps that are ‘drooping’ or swaying, especially in strong winds.
Mr Singh says fittings on about 1000 of the city’s 17,000 street lamps have proved to be faulty. The spigots – part of the brackets which attach the lamps to the street lamp poles – date from 2017 when the Council installed 17,000 new LED street lamps around the city.
These spigots are now failing prematurely causing the lamp head to come loose and hang.
The Council is actively working with four companies that shared the installation work in 2017 to better identify the suburbs and streets where the faulty spigots may have been installed.
In the meantime, Council contractors are checking spigots every time they go up a pole, regardless of the reason that they are doing so. If a spigot is one from the faulty batch, it is replaced immediately.