Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Street Lighting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City reports steps to speed neighborhood street‑light repairs; supply and tree trimming remain bottlenecks
Summary
Traffic engineering and the contractor partner told the committee they added a dedicated engineer and a contractor to accelerate street‑light installations and repairs, but older equipment, supply‑chain delays and overhanging trees are slowing full restoration in some neighborhoods.
City traffic engineering staff and contractor representatives told the Planning and Infrastructure Committee Feb. 25 they are working to reduce the backlog of outages and speed new street‑light installations, but that supply and right‑of‑way tree trimming are recurring constraints.
Staff said they now have a dedicated contract engineer to accelerate design and that they are coordinating directly with the utility contractor (Swepco/SWETCO) on repairs and installations. The police department completed a canvass of streets and provided a list of about 70 outstanding outages to the contractor, staff said; the number of outages is trending down.
Traffic engineers noted that many lights fail because of old equipment and breaker issues on corridors such as I‑20 and Pines Road; some lights are on utility company infrastructure while others are city‑owned and need different processes for repair. Staff also said tree canopy over boulevards frequently reduces effective illumination even when poles and fixtures are working.
Council members asked about specific streets including Juela Avenue, Lakeshore and Harry Huckabee Drive; staff said some pockets are maintained by the utility while others are the city’s responsibility and that the city is sending letters to property owners to request tree trimming where citizen trees block lighting.
Why it matters: street lighting affects public safety, pedestrian and vehicle visibility and residents’ sense of neighborhood safety. Councilmembers asked for an updated timeline and agreed staff should keep a docket of outstanding outages and coordinate supply procurement to speed repairs.
What’s next: staff said they will continue to coordinate with Swepco, pursue signed letters of agreement needed to start some jobs and provide the committee with updates on breaker repairs and the status of the 70 outstanding lights.
