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Baltimore council presses DOT to secure parts, finalize inventory and consider alternatives if BGE won’t sign enforceable street‑lighting contract
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Summary
Committee members said the city must own street‑lighting outcomes, questioned a decades‑old informal relationship with BGE, and pushed DOT to complete a verified inventory; CityStat reported 4,600 dataset mismatches that could shrink to roughly 2,000 after geospatial refinements and field checks.
The Land Use & Transportation Committee pressed the Department of Transportation on Feb. 19 for a clear plan to complete an accurate street‑lighting inventory, replenish critical parts, and secure enforceable maintenance arrangements.
"Streetlighting is a public good," Council President Zeke Cohen told DOT. He and Chair Ryan Dorsey said the city cannot rely on a decades‑old "handshake" arrangement with Baltimore Gas & Electric and asked DOT to pursue alternatives if BGE will not enter a formal, charter‑compliant contract.
Director Veronica Macbeth said DOT considers street lighting the city's responsibility, but acknowledged the complex overlap with BGE: "We install and maintain the city lights, and BGE does install and maintain some of theirs as well. The overlap is that if there's a damaged street light, we take care of all of them, both city and BGE." She said DOT has drafted a street‑lighting agreement and is awaiting BGE's comments.
CityStat and DOT data staff described a multistep data‑reconciliation process using CycloMedia imagery, BGE geocoded datasets and private‑land overlays to reduce the mismatch between inventories. CityStat said the preliminary delta is about 4,600 mismatches and estimated they can reduce that by roughly half before field verification; DOT estimated human inspections would be required to validate approximately 2,000 locations.
The committee also examined parts and pole inventories. DOT said it had secured a contract with MVA Power to provide up to 250 steel bases per year, but reported extremely low on‑hand inventory for some critical parts. One DOT slide and testimony reported only nine 1‑inch plate steel bases in stock while roughly 279 lights currently documented as needing that base exist. DOT said a first shipment originally expected in January was delayed and is now expected by the end of April, and staff are pursuing additional vendors to avoid single‑vendor dependency.
Council members asked the mayor's office to provide a timeline for when the administration would consider cutting ties with an unwilling vendor and urged DOT to explore bringing work in‑house or contracting directly with subcontractors that BGE currently uses if BGE remains uncooperative.
Next steps: CityStat and DOT will continue data work to shrink mismatches and plan for field inspections; DOT will press BGE for comments on the draft agreement while preparing contingency procurement options; the committee asked the mayor's office to follow up with guidance on a timeframe to escalate or replace the BGE relationship if necessary.
