SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Streetlights in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma are certainly a flash point of conversation around the area, especially as Halloween arrives.
“I don’t like walking my dogs after dark,” Dell Schroeder, a Loma Portal resident, said. “It’s a little disconcerting at times yeah. Personal safety.”
“It’s been six months since they haven’t been working,” Pete Mechalas, another Loma Portal resident, said.
“Why there’s a problem or why it’s been so delay, I don’t know,” Clint Bruce, who also lives in the neighborhood, said.
ABC 10News first told you about these neighbors’ concerns about the streetlights earlier this month.
In a statement then, the city told us then they’d have crews coming into the area to work on the lights.
On Monday, a city spokesperson said in a statement, “City staff were not out there today but previously evaluated the streetlights earlier this month. The Transportation Department deployed staff to troubleshoot and repair the outages and they were able to bring seven lights back into service.”
RELATED: Loma Portal neighbors worry about lack of working streetlights as Halloween nears
The city's response provided some hope for a few people.
“We have not heard anything from the city for a number of months after they initially came in put the new poles in and they were gone. And so, without your story, we wouldn’t have those seven lights on even though it was only for a few days,” Bruce said.
The city spokesperson also said in their statement “Unfortunately, as is problematic of series circuits, the lights again experienced outages. The teams will continue to assess temporary measures, but ultimately capital investments will be needed to ensure a permanent return of service in this area.”
While that permanent fix is still being worked out and some lights are on, the dark streets are still giving a fright for some considering Halloween is on Tuesday, which means trick-or-treaters will be out and about.
“The kid, the kids, the kids. They have a right to have a good time and not get hurt,” Schroeder said.
“I’m a musician and I’m going to put my stage out front here. And, hopefully, I can light this area up. We have a very large, I mean, like I said probably a thousand kids tomorrow,” Mechalas said.
The city previously mentioned to ABC 10News that it considered adding temporary solar lights to the top of posts to give some light as it worked on the permanent fix.
A spokesperson said Monday that idea didn't prove to be viable.
