The challenge and opportunity
The City of Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, recently lifted a longstanding streetlight moratorium which limited the annual funding to this asset class. The City had a resulting pent up demand to install new streetlights and improve pedestrian safety, but funding levels were inadequate to maintain existing streetlights. City staff needed to demonstrate the necessity for increased funding to both maintain and improve the street lighting system.
City staff identified known challenges to determining what resources would be needed:
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The question of adding new lights vs. repairing old: how to prioritize projects?
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How to turn a large investment in data gathered into actionable information to prove the case for increased capital funds, mindful of competition with other departments?
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To utilize older methodologies or to leverage its newer asset management software to ensure optimization?
Brightly, OHM advisors and the City of Ann Arbor
The City of Ann Arbor had already purchased Brightly Predictor to successfully optimize their Water and Sewer systems funding strategies. Instead of purchasing additional software for street lights, staff leaders decided to use Predictor as its primary data analysis engine. Predictor allowed the analysis of the multi components of streetlights: Electrical, Luminare, Post, and Foundation & Base.
Along with trusted partners OHM Advisors, the City first looked to available condition assessment data and current inventory against factors such as traffic, location, critical users, and existing lighting levels. They identified a goal of no greater than 10% of street lights reaching end of life. The City was confident this goal would be achievable, strategized and documented.
The multi-component analysis of Predictor allowed the City to leverage existing streetlight condition information to present data-driven budget needs to Council.
Chris Elenbaas, PE
Public Works Engineer, City of Ann Arbor
Scenarios were visualized via Esri Story Map
The existing $300K budget for infrastructure could not accommodate new and maintain existing street lights, and so investment strategies needed to be vetted.
City staff and OHM Advisors used Predictor to run a multicomponent funding analysis for a 25-year period. The results clearly identified a winning strategy among the four scenarios modeled: A budget increase to $710K with an expansion of 30 new streetlights per annum.
Results
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Within 8 weeks The City of Ann Arbor had built a model from the data previously collected as part of their Streetlight Condition Assessment project, and presented to Council the optimal investment strategy through visually articulated data.
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Successfully won a 137% funding increase to support its stated objectives.
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On-track to meeting newly defined level of service goal: 10% or less of the street lights at end-of-life.
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The City of Ann Arbor saved considerable IT funds, resources and training since Brightly handles multiple asset classes.
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With increased funding and necessary expansion, on- track to improving safety within the service area.
