San Diego Launched A Campaign To Repair Their 6,000 Broken Streetlights 

Monday San Diego launched a campaign to overhaul nearly 6,000 broken streetlights that are making several city communities more vulnerable to crime and less security for pedestrians and cyclists.

San Diego Launched Campaign To Repair Their 6,000 Broken Streetlights  (PHOTO: The San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego Launched A Campaign To Repair Broken Streetlights

San Diego launched a campaign an effort that will use a new $3.5 million federal grant to replace some of the aging circuit infrastructure that supports the streetlights, which will improve their reliability and reduce maintenance costs.

In addition, a shortage of city electricians that needs to repair the lights is being handled with independent outside electricians. The city recently close a deal with those electricians, and they’ve begun helping tackle the problem.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Mayor Todd Gloria during a Monday morning news conference in Pacific Beach that they have launched a campaign and they will do everything they can to get the streetlights back on.

In most of San Diego’s older communities, the streetlights were installed in the 1950s and 1960s, making them ancient and leaving city officials without detailed records about how some operate.

At last count, more than 5,900 of the city’s roughly 57,000 streetlights more than 10 percent were not working and the average time to repair a reported outage has been more than 250 days.

The federal money, which Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) helped secure, will settle for replacement wiring for roughly 200 lights 30 in Logan Heights and 170 in Pacific Beach and Point Loma.

Peters also said that maintaining the streetlights is a matter of public safety, particularly the safety of the younger generation who uses the city parks for sports and recreation.

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Other Problems In San Diego Streetlights

Scott Peters reported that other problems facing San Diego streetlights include damaged wiring, blown-out bulbs, outdated conductors, infestations by rodents, and damage caused by homeless people dabbing into electrical grids and thieves stealing copper wires.

Outages are often so complex that city administrators claimed they should conduct minor research to determine the best way to resolve each one.

Another difficulty is that many of the city’s 18 electrician jobs have been empty for months, leaving only a skeleton staff to negotiate with a worsening problem.

In February Gloria announced that he had reached an agreement with city labor unions to hire independent electricians to assist in addressing the streetlight repair backlog.

In addition to the San Diego launched a campaign for outdated wiring, city crews are adding tamper-proof covers and installing energy-efficient light bulbs wherever doable, Gloria said.

Residents who spot a broken streetlight are encouraged to report it using the city’s Get it Done! tipster app.

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