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Council asks Public Works for 90‑day street‑lighting report after residents cite dark corridors
Summary
Councilmember Saro secured unanimous support for a motion directing Public Works to deliver a 90‑day inventory and analysis of the city's street‑lighting system — including mapping, maintenance/backlog data, vandalism trends and recommended brightness/uniformity standards — citing public-safety concerns and slow repair timelines.
The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to ask the Department of Public Works for a comprehensive 90‑day report on street‑lighting infrastructure, maintenance practices, public‑safety impacts and recommended citywide standards.
Councilmember Saro introduced the item, saying residents and businesses in multiple districts have reported ‘‘pitch‑black’’ blocks and inconsistent lighting coverage that undermines pedestrian and traffic safety. Saro asked staff to provide a citywide inventory of fixtures, a lighting‑coverage map that identifies poorly lit locations, an explanation of how fixture locations are decided, current brightness and uniformity standards, and a description of maintenance response times and backlogs.
Councilmembers raised related concerns: the city’s exposure to vandalism and copper theft; how lighting repairs are prioritized; protections and special considerations for historic districts and their existing fixtures; and whether reporting pathways (for example, the GoLongBeach app) reach the correct operations teams. Councilmember McCart requested historical context on prior LED upgrades and repair timelines; others asked that Public Works consider options to improve residents’ expectations for response time when outages occur.
An Olive Court HOA representative told the council that dark corridors along East Damon Street and other locations leave residents feeling unsafe, and urged faster repairs. Councilmembers and staff discussed working with the police department to notify law enforcement of long outages in high‑risk corridors.
The council’s motion asks Public Works to return in 90 days with the requested inventory, analysis of maintenance realities (including vandalism trends and costs), recommended brightness/uniformity standards and options for improved resident reporting and internal coordination. The motion passed on a unanimous roll call.
Next steps: Public Works will prepare the citywide inventory and options for prioritizing repairs and improving resident communications; council indicated interest in folding the results into five‑year infrastructure planning.
