Detroit city officials celebrate 2,000 street lights added to neighborhoods

If you look down the street on Westmoreland Road on Detroit's west side, it doesn't look pitch dark anymore at night.

Mayor Mary Sheffield announced Wednesday that 2,000 new midblock street lights have been installed, creating hundreds of brighter, safer blocks across the city.

Sheffield announced Wednesday that 2,000 new midblock street lights have been installed, creating hundreds of brighter, safer blocks across the City.

"So installation is now complete in Districts 1,3, and 6. And work now begins in 2, 4, and 5, followed by District 7, which will begin in mid-November," said Sheffield.

And the timing of these new lights seems strategic, as Halloween is just three days away. And this neighborhood's trick-or-treaters, already in their costumes, seem to be excited about the new lights.

"I'm so excited for Halloween, and I'm going to have more fun because there'll be street lights all around me so I can stay safe," one child said.

The street lights are part of an initiative by Sheffield and the Detroit Public Lighting Authority called Brighten Up the Block, in which 3,000 additional midblock lights will be installed by the end of the year.

"It's really about being able to just look down the street and be able to see what's going on. For some people, it's that simple that improves the quality of life," said Detroit City Council President James Tate Jr.

"I'm a walker in this neighborhood every morning at 7 o'clock, and this has really made me feel safer to walk down Westmoreland," said one resident.