DETROIT (AP) — Crews will begin a block-by-block review of streetlights in two Detroit neighborhoods this week as part of a three-year plan to overhaul the city's decrepit lighting system.
Fewer than half of Detroit's 88,000 streetlights are believed to be working, and Public Lighting Authority workers will inspect each light in areas on the city's east and west sides to map out which aren't working and to determine the cause of each malfunction.
"We will use the information we gather to design a specific plan to relight both of these areas as a prelude to moving out into the rest of the city to completely restore street lighting," the authority's Executive Director Odis Jones said in a statement.
Workers will be wearing yellow vests with the Public Lighting Authority's logo and will be driving vehicles with PLA signs on the side.
After approval from City Council, the Public Lighting Authority was set up earlier this year to design and implement the plan to improve Detroit's public lighting system. Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation last year to allow lighting authorities in some cities.
