The City of Nelson is reviewing aging light standards on Baker St.
The heritage style light poles, which were erected over 35 years ago, are starting to show their age. As a result, the city recently commissioned the Acuren Group Inc. to inspect the light pole standards and assess their condition.
“The initial inspection has deemed that the majority of inspected poles are in an acceptable condition,” public works director Colin Innes said in a news release, adding that “we have taken corrective action to deal with the poles which appear to have the most wear and will remove any potentially hazardous poles immediately.”
The inspection process involved a visual examination as well as use of a liquid dye penetrant to identify any cracking.
One of the identified poles which will be removed is at the corner of Josephine and Baker Streets. This will affect the traffic light configuration at this intersection. The current traffic lights will be removed and replaced temporarily with a four way stop, until the final design plan is in place and new light standards are purchased and installed.
The city will review the results of the ongoing testing and address any other immediate concerns that are identified, Innes said.
“Improving Nelson’s aging infrastructure is a major priority for our council and current administration,” said city manager Kevin Cormack. “Our development services team is working to finalize the downtown urban design strategy which will create a long-term vision for upgrades and improvements to infrastructure and amenities in the downtown. We don’t want to rush in to purchasing new light poles until we have a finalized design plan in place.”