The City of Boulder announced on March 3 that it will begin to convert its streetlights to efficient LEDs and high-quality fixtures in early March, with construction expected to take approximately 15 to 18 months. The city purchased 4,400 streetlights in October 2024 from Excel Energy with a goal to improve financial resilience, environmental stewardship, and safe travel. The project will allegedly save the city up to $1 million per year.
Funds from the city’s Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience Framework will be used to execute the project, which will “help move Boulder toward its climate targets and transportation goals.” The new streetlights are also expected to improve visibility and safety while maintaining dark skies for night-sky viewing. According to the City of Boulder, the project should also increase reliability with smart lights that can self-report outages, reduce operation and maintenance costs, and decrease the city's carbon emissions by about 1,000 metric tons annually.
“This investment highlights the city’s commitment to responsibly managing vital infrastructure while ensuring the thoughtful stewardship of community funds,” said City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde. “We aim to lead by example in adopting innovative, quality technologies that support the natural environment, fund sustainability and prioritize the wellbeing of community members who travel and reside in Boulder.”
The initial purchase of the streetlights was made using funds from the Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety Tax, which is to be used for capital improvements in the city through 2036. The Transportation and Mobility Department has repurposed $755,400 in the 2025 budget to manage and maintain the streetlights.
Minimal traffic impacts are expected during construction, but some short-term parking and lanes may be closed next to streetlights being converted. Colorado Lighting, Inc. (CLI) will be the installation contractor and the city said that work vehicles and equipment will be “clearly identifiable with displayed project details and city and CLI logos.”
The city will update the project map with completed streetlights/areas so that the community can check if their neighborhood streetlights have been converted. The project will convert most city-owned streetlights to LEDs, but some conversions will occur later on as “part of private development and separate city projects,” according to the City of Boulder.
