The NSW Government is providing more than $250,000 to help councils across the central west install and maintain street lighting to improve road conditions for motorists travelling at night.
Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said the grants under the Traffic Route Lighting Subsidy Scheme would help provide improved and more reliable lighting on many local roads.
LIGHTING: Regional Roads Minister and Orange Mayor Jason Hamling welcome state government support for the cost of operating better street lighting.
“Better visibility is a safety win for all road users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians,” Cr Hamling said.
“It’s good to be sharing the cost of delivering safer roads with the NSW Government.
“Under this scheme, Councils will share operational costs of running street lighting, which will help reduce the number of nighttime accidents.
“Orange is also part-way through a city-wide upgrade of our street lighting, converting them to more energy-efficient LED lights.”
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the Government was investing record funding in road safety to ensure people reach their destination safely when driving on regional roads.
“One death on our country roads is one too many and it takes a suite of measures to save as many lives as possible, like improving our roadside infrastructure,” Mr Farraway said.
“We have invested $640 million into the Saving Lives on Country Roads program, targeting locations in regional areas where chances of an accident are greater.
“We’re also installing 2700 kilometres of rumble strips – the equivalent of driving from Sydney to Adelaide and back again – along regional highways to combat driver fatigue.”
The Traffic Route Lighting Subsidy Scheme will help cover capital costs for new and improved street lighting, maintenance work, network distribution and energy consumption costs.
Councils can receive a subsidy of up to 50 per cent of the Australian Energy Regulator’s approved pricing to assist in rolling out a better level of lighting than otherwise provided on state, regional and designated roads.
Council allocations:
| Orange City Council | $ 117,000 |
| Parkes Council | $ 57,000 |
| Forbes Council | $ 42,000 |
| Cabonne Council | $ 38,000 |
