The Carroll City Council briefly discussed the possibility of replacing the streetlights at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and Grant Road at their meeting Monday evening due to numerous complaints about their purple appearance. Ward 2 Councilman Jason Atherton says he routinely received comments and messages from the public since the change and questioned Public Works Director Randy Krauel on what it would take to swap them out for a standard color. Krauel says LED lights are unfortunately costly, around $1,700 per intersection, and explains how the situation came to be.
The city owns the street lamps, but MidAmerican Energy, which supplies the power to the lights, previously charged the city a tariff for their maintenance. However, that tariff is no longer in effect, so the city is now responsible for their care. Krauel says the intersection is so noticeable because all four lights were replaced at once.
With the purple LEDs already in the city’s inventory, Krauel says they opted to use those rather than purchase new ones. Ward 3 Councilman Kyle Bauer says the lights are hard not to notice after dark and could pose a hazard for motorists with low-light issues.
The Grant Road/Highway 30 traffic lights were not on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, so the council could not take action. The council would need to formally vote on the issue at a future meeting for the lights to be replaced.
