Minneapolis invests $9 million into fixing street lights
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was joined by members of city council and the Director of Public Works Tuesday afternoon, as they laid out why millions of dollars were needed to fix the city's street lights.
"Lighting helps almost everything. From making people feel safe as they walk down the street, from deterring would be criminals from committing a bad act, to just making people feel better," Frey said. "We need to make sure that our lighting infrastructure is up to par, that we're resolving some of the backlog in lighting repairs that we've seen over the last several years and now's the time to do it right."
Using federal dollars from American Rescue Plan, work has already started on fixing some of the areas most in need or with a backlog of repairs, including the Stevens Square, Loring Park, Como, and Marcy-Holmes neighborhoods. A backlog of more than 650 street lights in need of repair is now down to approximately 200 street lights.
In Frey's proposed budget, those areas would see an additional $9 million investment into fixing some of the light's issues which literally go deeper than replacing light bulbs.
"Underground electrical wiring that is failing, said Margaret Anderson-Kelliher, Director of Minneapolis Public Works. "That is the major reason that in a few of our neighborhoods, we see total outage. It doesn't matter about replacing a bulb because the lights won't come back on."
"We need to make sure that our lighting infrastructure is up to par, that we're resolving some of the backlog in lighting repairs that we've seen over the last several years and now's the time to do it right," Frey said.
The work on the street lights is already getting a positive response from some residents.
"It makes a difference just being able to see what's in front of you and see what's coming. I get home from work at about 11 o'clock at night and it's always really dark," said Ashley Nestberg. "A lot of the lights are out around here...I mean I'm a woman walking alone at 11 o'clock at night. It can make it a little uneasy so it would be nice if it was more well lit and safer."
City leaders say the work will also benefit some of the city's youngest residents.
"While meeting with the Northside Youth Council, they offered their firsthand experiences living in neighborhoods without proper street lighting," said LaTrisha Vetaw, Ward 4 Councilmember. "They shared photos with us of their walks too and from school where it was completely pitch black, especially in the colder months."
"There will be a time not too long from now where young people and students are getting up in the morning and going to school, pretty much in the pitch black unless there are street lights out, unless we've done the work ahead of time to make sure kids can walk to school and walk back from school after soccer practice with lights," Frey said.
City officials encourage anyone who lives in a neighborhood with a faulty streetlight to report it using 311 or by contacting their councilmember.
