In order to lower its carbon footprint, some Wisconsin towns switched over to LED traffic lights. While they may have lowered their electric bill, there’s a chance their footprint grew. Plus, there’s another problem:
City officials say the LED lights use less electricity and don’t give off enough heat to melt ice or snow. So when the snow falls and the wind blows, the traffic lights are obscured.
That’s led to some traffic crashes at intersections where drivers aren’t sure whether to stop or go. It’s happened in Ashwaubenon, near Green Bay, and West Bend.
City crews have manually been scraping the ice and snow off the traffic lights. Public works officials say the LED lights have saved thousands of dollars in monthly power bills.
That may be, but SondraK has a great point:
…how much does it cost to have a crew and a cherry-picker go out and scrape off the ice and snow? And the cost of the crashes? And the injuries? And the lives? And what’s the carbon footprint of that big diesel and full crew of shovel-leaners?
I think that if I eased into an intersection only to have some high speed moron t-bone me, the savings on the city’s electric bill would be the last thing on my mind.
