Hogsett ends 35 year ban on new street lights
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Are new street lights coming to your neighborhood?
That’s the question some people are asking after Mayor Joe Hogsett ended a 35-year ban on new street lights. The ban was put in place in 1981 in an effort to save the city money.
City leaders won’t discuss exact locations. A spokesperson for the mayor said officials plan to install some lights in the city’s high crime focus areas.
“Many people in our neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis will not leave their homes after the sun goes down because there is not adequate lighting and they don’t feel safe,” Hogsett said.
61st and Carrollton Avenue is not a focus area, but people who live in the Broad Ripple neighborhood said lighting is important there due to the number of visitors. The neighborhood has street lights at select intersections, but Elizabeth Marshall of the Broad Ripple Village Association said that’s not enough.
“Darkness creates a good opportunity for criminals who maybe want to hide or harm people that live in our village,” Marshall said.
Councillor Colleen Fanning lives on Carrollton Avenue. She said the neighborhood is no stranger to burglaries.
Fanning said the neighborhood deserves consideration for the lights and she plans on fighting to secure them.
That’s not stopping her from shining a light on the city’s $50 million deficit.
“I’m not sure where street light money is going to come from,” Fanning said. “We obviously have a lot of needs we’re not quite meeting now, especially with infrastructure.”
Hogsett said the first 100 new lights will come out of the city’s existing budget. Workers will start installing those lights within the next month.
City leaders said they’ll seek feedback from IPL, City-County Council and the people who want lights in their neighborhood.
“We’re so excited that we have the opportunity for maybe some additional lighting in the village,” Marshall said.
Hogsett plans to eventually hold a news conference to reveal more details on the plan.