You may notice some lighting changes on Main Street and Aggie Blvd in Vernal in the coming weeks as Uintah County and Vernal City experiment with reducing lighting in that area. According to Uintah County Planner Matt Cazier, rather than just have Rocky Mountain Power go in and remove any lights, a few test scenarios will be set up to see what different configurations look like and if enough light is still distributed. On Main Street west of Aggie Blvd, 3 lights to every 1 will be disconnected. On Aggie Blvd heading north from Main Street, every other light will be disconnected. The other two legs from the roundabout will remain as they are. “This is a test run,” says Cazier. “We are hoping to get feedback from people who use that area…Tell people we are testing it out and to get back to us.” Each light costs about $50 per month with only about $5 of that going towards electricity. The rest is paid to Rocky Mountain Power for service and maintenance. The cost to the County is about $72,000 dollars a year for 116 lights and the cost to the City is approximately the same. More information is available and feedback can be given on the Uintah County Community Development Facebook page.
