SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Homeowners in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma say their streetlights have been out for months and they're concerned about pedestrian safety as Halloween approaches.
Neighbors say about six months ago the city started replacing old streetlights with more modern fixtures; however, they say they’ve been in the dark since. The lights are out on several streets, including Narcissus Drive, Chatsworth Boulevard and ones around Plumosa Park.
The neighborhood is popular among trick-or-treaters and the community goes all out every year, with haunted houses, a lot of candy and even movie showings.
"We literally have a thousand kids come to my door on Halloween night," says Pete Mechalas, a long-time resident.
Mechalas says he and a group of his neighbors have reported the lights out to their city council member and on the Get It Done app, but until a few days ago had heard nothing back. A quick search on the app shows dozens of requests for light maintenance.
"We’re very proud of this neighborhood so we’d like to get them to care of it," said Al Higdon, another longtime resident in Point Loma.
ABC 10News reached out to the city to find out about the outages and they sent us the following statement:
According to our streetlight work plan, the City is mobilizing electrical staff into this area in October to begin streetlight maintenance, particularly on two streetlight series circuits containing 68 lights on and adjacent to Chatsworth Boulevard. These circuits have historically experienced undergrounding issues resulting in limited lighting and frequent, complicated repairs. While working in this area, the Transportation Department will evaluate both circuits and identify repair needs to restore lighting. Evaluations of series circuits can be time-consuming, so in the interim, the City is also looking at the feasibility of adding solar lights to the tops of the streetlight posts to provide temporary light while working on a permanent fix. We will also be evaluating Evergreen Street between Lytton Street and Curtis Street for solar lights as an interim solution while we investigate the outage and infrastructure issues.
There are two other circuits around Plumosa Park and Loma Palisades that have recently been completed or are near completion around Plumosa Park and Loma Palisades. The conversion of these circuits consists of newer technology and provides reliable lighting.
