Orange City Council asking community for opinion about Summer Street lights

Last year Orange's traditional, coloured festoon lights were changed to white last year while fairy lights adoring the main street's trees were switched on in April, but Cr Kidd posed the question as to whether they should remain seasonal.

Traditionally, the lights have been additions to the CBD in November or December, to mark the holidays and instill a sense of excitement leading up to the Christmas period.

However the lights constantly on in the main street now have received raved reviews on social media and been labelled 'magical, spectacular and stunning'.

"The lights are absolutely fantastic and the response has been overwhelmingly positive from the community," Cr Kidd said.

"I've heard stories of parents taking their kids on drives down the main street at night just to show them the magic of Summer Street.

"The festoon replacements and extensions were completed last year and the fairy lights in the trees were turned on in April so it is all still a novelty. We're not used to seeing such wonder as we head into the CBD at night.

"What Council is asking the community for is its opinion on whether having the lights on all the time will mean they lose a bit of their specialness.

"I liken it to having the Christmas tree up all year around, would that mean that it becomes merely a decoration in the background and loses its importance?

"Or the alternative view is that we leave the lights on all of the time and every visitor who comes to the city will see the beautiful main street in all its glory, no matter the time of year.

"I am over the moon with the response so far to such a simple, cost-effective jazzing up of our CBD area."

One big impact that comes with a permanently lit CBD area is the necessity to change burnt out bulbs, which of course will occur more often if the lights remain on all the time.

Council confirmed replacing the bulbs comes at a cost as the work must be done at night with a partial road closure.

Separately to the fairy lights in the trees and the festoon lights overhead, Council recently installed $1.5 million worth of "Whiteway" LED pole lights in the CBD.

These lights will remain on in the evenings and are not part of the discussion regarding how often the lights should be turned on.

Anyone who would like to have their say about the frequency of the lights in Summer Street should head to Orange City Council's YourSay Orange page.

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