The 72 tree spotlights on Penzberger Bahnhofstrasse will not be put back into operation. The other lamps in the city center will be converted to LED technology.
Penzberg - They were part of the redesign of Penzberg's city center: in 2007, the tree locations on Bahnhofstrasse were provided with "effect lighting". Goal: Create lighting accents and a feel-good effect along the traffic axis. 72 burners of warm white metal halide lamps were placed in the ground. But things didn't work. The spotlights suffered from the location, for example there were short circuits due to condensation. The city soon switched off the spotlights at night, and they have been completely off for over a year.
Decision in the building committee: The 72 tree spotlights on Penzberger Bahnhofstrasse will not be put back into operation
The administration wanted to completely take the floor spotlights out of circulation two years ago, but the building committee had a different opinion in March 2022. Not all committee members were comfortable with decommissioning: the majority decided at the time to put the spotlights back into operation. But nothing came of it.
Building management recommended that ground spotlights be permanently taken out of operation
At the most recent meeting of the building committee on Tuesday (April 16), the topic was back on the table as part of the LED conversion of the city center lighting. The building administration recommended that the 72 floor spotlights be permanently taken out of operation and that the cabling be left for possible later use.
Spotlights now contradict everything when it comes to light pollution and insect protection
City architect Justus Klement said that the lighting technology concept pursued at the time with spotlights in the sky contradicted everything regarding light pollution and insect protection. The building authority also argued with the high costs for the municipality. Around 35,000 euros were estimated for the replacement.
However, the department said there would be a risk of funding being lost due to the light being emitted into the night sky. And anyway: the spotlights haven't been in operation for over a year anyway, says Klement - there has been no feedback from citizens. “Nobody missed her in public.”
The building authority promoted converting the other lamps to LED
Despite the city's tight budget situation, the building authority advocated for the LED conversion of the other city lighting systems in the city center area. Klement calculates a total acquisition cost of around 170,000 euros.
However, this would be counteracted by possible funding of around 119,000 euros and significant savings in electricity consumption (previously estimated at 12,000 euros per year) of around 8,000 euros annually. The city architect said the investment would have paid for itself in around four years.
The building committee unanimously followed the proposal
In the end, the building committee unanimously approved the end of the floor spotlights and the remaining LED conversion. Armin Jabs (BfP) couldn't resist taking a dig: "Thank God" the Baumstrahler decision had not yet been implemented two years ago, he commented smugly. Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU) justified the administration's passivity with civil engineering work and staff shortages.
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