No street lights

[Planner3357]

Driving to Mexicantown last night I noticed none of the street lights around Roosevelt Park were lit. Isn't this the city's responsibility? Is it done purposely to deter people from going in the MCS? It's really dangerous especially with the curves.

[Carey]

You're kidding, right? Do you think the city would actually have a PLAN when it comes to streetlights? It has failed for years, or maybe even decades, to keep them all lit in the proper way every night. On a couple days last week, the lights along the Ford Freeway west of Woodward were all dark. Talk about dangerous.
What percentage of the lights in Detroit are out on any given night? It's impossible to know, but my wild guess would be around 15 percent.

[Planner3357]

Maybe kidding...but really...this is one of the most direct connectors to Mexicantown from downtown. I thought that the whole Corktown org. would have bitched about this a little bit more..being that they seem to have some prominence.

[Augustiner]

Those things are supposed to light up? I always wondered what they were for.

[j to the jeremy]

I'd say the percentage out on any given night is more than 15%. Seeing as about 15% from Downtown-New Center are usually out, I think the ratios in the neighborhoods are even worse. I've driven around places where 50 percent of the lights were out over a huge area, like more than a square mile.

[Swimmaven]

I had a friend, Bob Lane [[probably dead by now). He was sort of an artist and petty criminal from Hamtrameck. He said when Detroit's infrastructure was no longer dependable then it was time to get out. Because it would be chaos.

But sometimes I think that in 50 years there will be large swaths of the US that will be like Detroit is now. We've almost sold our souls to the Chinese, have terrible drug problems, who knows where the money went and the social fabric looks pretty grim. Are we on our way to doomsday?

[NorthofNormal]

We've almost sold our souls to the Chinese, have terrible drug problems, who knows where the money went and the social fabric looks pretty grim. Are we on our way to doomsday?

I wouldn't worry too much. According to the Mayans, we've only got about another year before a comet strike/zombie virus/war in the Korean peninsula kills us all anyway.

[Augustiner]

I had a friend, Bob Lane [[probably dead by now). He was sort of an artist and petty criminal from Hamtrameck. He said when Detroit's infrastructure was no longer dependable then it was time to get out. Because it would be chaos.

But sometimes I think that in 50 years there will be large swaths of the US that will be like Detroit is now. We've almost sold our souls to the Chinese, have terrible drug problems, who knows where the money went and the social fabric looks pretty grim. Are we on our way to doomsday?

Hey, at least we didn't raise taxes. That's what really matters, right?

[EastsideAl]

Welcome to Detroit Planner3357!

Over here on the eastside I would say that our streetlights are out an average of once a week. And I'm near a supposedly 'prime' neighborhood too. From the evidence gathered during my nocturnal travels around the city I think it's almost certainly worse elsewhere. It's been more or less this way for 20 years or more.

[Hypestyles]

how expensive is public lighting every year? what needs to be done to improve the lighting infrastructure to 100%

[Russix]

how expensive is public lighting every year? what needs to be done to improve the lighting infrastructure to 100%

Adopt a streetlight program.

[JStone]

I am no street light expert, but I have been told that much of Detroit's street light system is ancient technology that nobody supports any longer - ie no replacement parts are still being manufactured. I guess there is a limited supply of parts that the city has bought up over the years from around the world. Maybe their rationing.

[French777]

It does seem like every year more and more of the "cobra" style street lights are replaced with "bishop" style street lights. I noticed in both Greektown and Grand Circus Park this is true.

[spiritofdetroit]

All of Woodward throughout downtown was off on my drive home today.

[old guy]

A number of cities are switching to solar street lights. Personally I think it's a great idea. No underground or overhead wires to dig in or maintain. I saw a cost analysis of what L.A. could save in a year if they could replace 30 - 40% of their street lights and it was in the 10's of millions just on the power savings. I think it's going to be a huge industry and it would be nice if they could be manufactured in some place like Detroit. China is already gearing up for production. And yes, there is enough sunlight in the midwest to make it feasible.

If a large portion of the U.S. were to switch to solar street lights and parking lot lights the reduction of energy usage would be noticeable.

[Jimaz]

And yes, there is enough sunlight in the midwest to make it feasible.

Thanks for mentioning that. That was the first question that came to mind.

There are also these efficient bright white LEDs coming online in so many applications. I assume they're coming to street lights too. I also assume they can filter out the light pollution for astronomers.

[Augustiner]

Thanks for mentioning that. That was the first question that came to mind.

So now let's discuss the second question: Do solar panels have scrap value?

[windsor_shane]

i've noticed this alot on west grand blvd near the bridge.. its a very well populated area.. but pitch black! wtf? does the city just leave them off to save money? don't the taxpayers pay for things like... streetlights?

[detroitbob]

I thought that maintenance of streetlights was farmed out to DTE some years back as the DPL cutbacks made for what was a hopeless situation for keeping the lights on...Several weeks ago, while going thru downtown, the area west of Woodward, south of Clifford all the way to Larned was out. But the kicker was while driving Medbury, east of Chene, to get to Mt. Elliot in an area virtually deserted, two unmarked trucks with buckets elevated were working replacing streetlights...go figure.

[Magnatomicflux]

Thanks for mentioning that. That was the first question that came to mind.

There are also these efficient bright white LEDs coming online in so many applications. I assume they're coming to street lights too. I also assume they can filter out the light pollution for astronomers.

old guy is right on with that. Windsor / Detroit receive quite a bit of sunlight and it certainly is enough to make it worth while.
Here's the stats for Windsor's avg. sunlight hours p/day anyways:

J - 3.4
F - 4.4
M - 5.4
A - 6.6
M - 8.4
J - 9.0
J - 9.5
A - 8.3
S - 7.0
O - 5.5
N - 4.1
D - 2.6


I would love it if directional streetlighting really catches on. I think that's what it's called anyways. There's a whole generation of people in this area that have never truly seen the stars from their own backyard. Imagine that? Imagine being in downtown Detroit or on the river and actually seeing the stars??What would be really special is to be able to fit all of Detroit's beautiful old lamps so they don't get scrapped.

But for scrap value.....I dunno, but there is copper in them.

[BrushStart]

I've seen lights out downtown and in other parts of the city. It is not a good thing. Creates a perfect storm for criminal activity and definitely deters people from walking around. Who wouldn't be nervous even in downtown if it were pitch black and desolate late at night? I know I would. Keeping the lights on is even more important during the winter months when it gets dark at 6pm. It's also a safety issue as I don't want to hit a pedestrian- might be someone drunk walking home from the bar- and if it's pitch black, they could be clipped crossing the street.

[Magnatomicflux]

I've seen lights out downtown and in other parts of the city. It is not a good thing. Creates a perfect storm for criminal activity and definitely deters people from walking around. Who wouldn't be nervous even in downtown if it were pitch black and desolate late at night? I know I would. Keeping the lights on is even more important during the winter months when it gets dark at 6pm. It's also a safety issue as I don't want to hit a pedestrian- might be someone drunk walking home from the bar- and if it's pitch black, they could be clipped crossing the street.

And....sad to say, but also the homeless you occasionally find that are sleeping right in the gutter. You'd never see them until it was way too late.

[Planner3357]

And so I hear a kid was run down on his bike on Vernor Monday night...not sure if there are lights there.

I live right above GCP and the street lights around the park and on Woodward were not on last night or this morning when I took the dog out.

[Lowell]

I don't think absence of lighting near the MCD would deter people from entering the MCD. If anything it would make that effort more favorable.

The lighting issue pops up on this forum on a regular basis. I am not convinced that there is a link between street lighting and crime rates, other than a reflection of poor municipal services which usually include law enforcement.

One of the highest accident zones in Michigan is 12 Mile and Orchard Lake in Farmington Hills.

How many street lights at that intersection?

Zero.

How many surveillance cameras?

Eight.

Go figure.

[NorthofNormal]

I am not convinced that there is a link between street lighting and crime rates, other than a reflection of poor municipal services which usually include law enforcement.

I think it's more a perception issue. A dark street feels less safe, nevermind the actual crime statistics.

It's a little thing that makes me crazy--reforming the police department and going after all the myriad root causes of crime and whatnot it expensive and takes a lot of time. Fixing the streetlights is faster and costs less. It almost certainly won't reduce actual crime dramatically, but if more people come to Detroit, for entertainment or to actually move in, because they feel safe being here, there could be an expanded tax base and increased political will to tackle the harder stuff.