Where the streets have no light
By Michelle Ouaknine
Nov. 16, 2005 9:00 p.m.
As students walk home to their apartments on the west side of
campus, they may find that many of the streetlights that had been
installed to brighten their path are now dark.
As of Wednesday night, about a third of the street lights by the
apartments on the west side of campus are not working, including
many located in the areas where armed robberies have occurred over
the past several months.
City officials were not available for comment about the
non-operating lights.
Out of 44 lights that were observed along the streets of
Strathmore Drive and Levering, Midvale, Landfair, Kelton and Gayley
Avenues, 15 of them were not working.
Some of the streets, including Levering and Midvale Avenues and
Strathmore Drive, have a higher percentage of non-functional lights
in comparison to other streets in the area.
Nancy Greenstein, a spokeswoman for the University Police, said
she had not received any complaints about the lighting in the
residential area on the west side of campus and the lack of
lighting does not contribute to a heightened safety risk.
Greenstein said UCPD encourages students to walk in well-lit
areas and to take advantage of the Community Service Officer escort
service – a free service available to students, faculty,
staff and visitors from dusk until 1 a.m.
CSOs escort callers between campus buildings, local living areas
and Westwood Village within the boundaries of Wilshire Boulevard to
the south, Sunset Boulevard to the north, Hilgard Avenue to the
east and Veteran Avenue to the west.
Housing Director Michael Foraker also said no complaints about
dark street lights had been brought to his attention. Foraker added
that if it was an issue, Housing would work with the city to
resolve the problem.
According to the City of Los Angeles Web site, the Bureau of
Street Lighting – one of the six bureaus in the Department of
Public Works – is responsible for the operation, maintenance
and repair of the street lighting system in Los Angeles.
The Bureau of Street Lighting encourages residents to report
damaged light poles, exposed wiring, burned out bulbs or any other
street lighting problems to them. This can be done by dialing 3-1-1
or by reporting the problems through the bureau’s Web site,
according to the Web site.
In addition to relying on residents to report problems with
existing street lights, property owners are able to request
additional lighting as they feel is necessary, at a cost of about
$1,600 to $3,500 per light.
Some students are concerned about all the light outages.
“I’ve always thought it’s an issue,”
said Elizabeth Carrillo, a fourth-year sociology student.
Carrillo said she tries to avoid the darker streets and will
usually use the escort service instead of walking by herself at
night.
Some students who do not often walk late at night are still
concerned about the poor lighting.
“I don’t walk too much, but it’s kind of
strange walking down the dark streets,” said Raul Aleman, a
fourth-year history and Spanish student.
