Dodgy Streetlights in Wellington Dropping Like Flies

Words by Ethan Manera (he/him)

Wellington City Council have landed themselves in a precarious pickle after the city began raining streetlights. The 11kg light fixtures, which weigh approximately the same as a medium sized dog or 24 box of Speights, have started falling from their poles with a total of 17 hurling to the ground so far. 

Earlier this month, Stuff reported a dodgy streetlight light fell to the ground at a pedestrian crossing in Berhampore next to a group of schoolchildren. A parent who reported this to the council alleges they "didn’t even have the courtesy to respond". 

After mixed messages from the council, it has now been revealed that all 17,000 streetlamps in Wellington are at risk of falling due to faulty ‘knuckle adaptors’ that aren't equipped to handle Wellington's strong wind. Following an investigation into the dangerous debacle, the council are prioritising the repair of 3200 streetlights and have, reportedly, fixed 600 so far.

Lauren, a Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington student, lives near Evans Bay Parade and says she’s concerned after seeing many drooping street lights while driving her moped home. “It was a bit scary... if one were to drop at the wrong moment, I’d be a goner,” she said.  

While speaking with Salient about the issue, Lauren concerningly noticed an additional two poles on the street that were “newly light-less”.

“We [are] a bit worried. It's kind of crap to be honest because as someone driving on the road I should be focusing on the traffic ahead, not the streetlights.”

Wellington City Councillor Tamatha Paul is the chair of the environment and infrastructure committee and said the council is “working hard to fix the situation.”

“We are really sorry for messing up... we're working hard to replace all of the faulty adapters,” she told Salient. 

Paul said a falling streetlight poses a potentially deadly risk “any object of that weight falling from that height would kill somebody... we are treating it like it can, and will happen”

“If you see a drooping streetlight, keep your distance and report it and we will fix it,” she said.

It comes after all 17,000 streetlights in the city were replaced with LED fixtures in a move to improve the environmental impact of the lights in 2017. Paul said she's “glad that council tried something different but unfortunately there's been a bit of a stuff up”.

A spokesperson for the University said that VUW is aware of Wellington City Council’s “streetlight issues” and has “always proactively engaged with the Council when a faulty light has been detected around our campuses”. 

“The University is confident that the Wellington City Council fault identification and remedial programme will be prioritised to address safety concerns, as recently reported,” they said.

Photos by Monique Ford for Stuff.