If I recall correctly, when I was on council the lights on the garages were automated and a member would go around and replace the light bulbs at regular intervals because it was a strata responsibility.
Not anymore. Now our garage light is either on all the time or off all the time, depending on whether the bulb is burned out or not. This is dangerous and costly. Leaving the lights on 24/7 seems wasteful, the bulbs burn out too fast, and a visitor nearly fell in the dark because with just our porch light on at night this is all that they could see.
Here is how it looks with a flash bulb on the camera, and how it should look with if a light was working on the garage.
I don't know how it worked before, or if the matter will be addressed in the Depreciation Report, but I think the old system was a better one.
Unit Numbers
Unit numbers were originally located on the garage under the light where emergency services, taxi drivers, delivery services, and first time visitors could see all addresses easily when approaching
whether the destination was a unit that faces east or west
day or night. This is 409 with the strata's automatic light on.
Address numbers on lower units were moved during the building envelope project from a light coloured surface under a light on the garage to a dark building out of the light where visibility is lost, particularly on units facing east like 409 where the numbers face in the opposite direction to a visitor's line of approach.
Now we try to warn new visitors that they may not be able to see our unit number unless they look backward from their approaching line of travel, or get out of their car, and we tell them where to turn around when they've gone past us.
Address numbers on lower units were moved during the building envelope project from a light coloured surface under a light on the garage to a dark building out of the light where visibility is lost, particularly on units facing east like 409 where the numbers face in the opposite direction to a visitor's line of approach.
Now we try to warn new visitors that they may not be able to see our unit number unless they look backward from their approaching line of travel, or get out of their car, and we tell them where to turn around when they've gone past us.
Moving our addresses to a dark surface in a location with poor visibility increases emergency response times - when seconds count. If the rescuers can’t find you - they can’t help you.
Selling your unit? When potential buyers have a hard time finding the address they get a negative first impression which contributes to the stigma plaguing Sunridge Estates since 2003.
Moving numbers from the original location to a dark wall which faces away from approaching visitors on all of the lower southeast units makes it far more difficult for visitors to find their way through the complex - no matter who they are trying to visit
Its just a little thing, but easily visible addresses help the whole neighborhood, showing first time visitors if they have gone too far or not far enough down the road. In fact, revised residential building codes for new construction are requiring illuminated street address numbers in cities and towns across the state of California. http://www.addressled.com/ I think we could very easily do better.
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This photo shows the light on the garage when it is on at night and is on every lower unit throughout the complex in the line of sight of approaching visitors. Unit numbers were originally located here on a light background that 
visitors could easily see as they made their way through the complex. Since the numbers were changed owners are using coloured lightbulbs and balloons to mark their address. This is 409's number in the evening with all of the automatic lights turned on throughout the complex - if you look carefully you might be able to see it
When we turn on our porch light approaching visitors still have to look backward from their line of travel and have very sharp eyesight to find 409.
We hang a brightly coloured wind sock - but it helps only a bit.
What visitors need is a good flashlight and instructions on exactly where to look.
People coming to our door who don't notice our unit number on the wall facing away from their approach, do notice the small area of stucco that was not covered with siding, As they stand at our front door they wonder if the building envelope project was just a cover up.
The writing on this white vehicle said that it was some kind of ambulance. I took the picture when I saw it creeping through the complex - presumably searching for an address in broad daylight. It begs the question - are obscure building numbers just a trivial annoyance to pizza delivery drivers - or could they be a more serious matter - like life and death?
Perhaps time will tell. Perhaps today's engineers and architects and owners will be gone by then. But, the older I get the more concerned I feel about safety issues.
I estimate that the problem could be solved for $100 http://www.ledress.com/
We would like the address numbers reinstated back onto a visible spot on the garage. We would like LED lit unit numbers so they are more visible on the dark new surface throughout the complex. Not just for our safety at 409, but for the benefit of all.
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