Kelvin Grove Community Assn. Inc.

Installing the new street lights in Kaimanawa Street

25 June 2001

A long standing whinge in Kelvin Grove over many years has been the very poor street lighting in the main streets through the suburb. Once upon a time the street lighting was probably deemed adequate, but this was not in the eyes of the average resident. The matter became especially evident when Kaimanawa Street was extended to become a through-road in the latter 1980s. Suddenly the residential half of the road had small low lights set far apart, while the new portion through farm paddocks had bright lights, close together and towering over the road. The cattle still grazing happily in these paddocks doubtless enjoys this luxury, but the people have been less happy with what they had at their end. This is compounded by a great deal of heavy traffic associated with the warehouses and factories in the vicinity and the inclination of some people to speed along Kaimanawa Street.

Various accidents and irritations are attributed to all these things, but the lights have been a sore point. People speak of their fear at walking along the road at night, due to the distance between the tiny lights. The protest march along Kaimanawa Street against the building of the Youth Justice Centre in August 1998, drew comments such as how the police cars at each end of the group were needed in part as no-one could even see the marchers in the dark. And then later the same night the senior CYPFS people who attended the protest meeting at the community centre (CYPFS was opening the YJC), later spoke of losing each other in the dark as they tried to find their car parked on the street.

And so, following the creation of this website to display the two latest accidents on the street - one occurring at night time - it was with amazement that residents spotted the telltale signs that new lights were finally to be installed. The photos below show the installation of the light outside Foodstuffs' main entrance, by which time about two-thirds of the wonderful new lights were in. Now we just have to get used to the various household side effects and the strange sight of lights in the distance where they didn't used to be.

Digging the hole

Diverted traffic

Hoisting the lamp post

Moving it toward the hole

Setting the pole into place. Sorry about the increasing darkness. In this case, it was just the camera battery getting low!

Last updated: 27/6/2001