'Heightened concern for safety': Streetlight outages leave some Bay View residents on edge

 

BAY VIEW, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Bay View residents are upset and in the dark Monday night after their streetlights have been out for several days. 

It's a repeat problem the city's been struggling with for years. Entire blocks completely out, adjacent to others where they remain on.

Walking dogs at night in Bay View has residents on edge this week. 

"So, when you have no lights on and maybe cars that aren't obeying the speed limits, there's just that heightened concern for safety," said Jason Lavann, Bay View resident.

They've taken their concerns to Facebook, posting complaints and hoping public officials take action, asking, "Why are we paying extra for this? Darkness promotes violence."

"And like I say, safety is so important for our kids around here and people just taking their stroll at night," said Dr. Ronald Mejia, Bay View resident.

Dr. Ronald Mejia says it's so dark it's even hard for drivers to see stop signs. He's worried a crash may happen here. With no word on when the streetlights may come back on, neighbors are doing what they can, leaving porch lights on.

"We see a lot of people walking in the dark sometimes. There's even to the point where some people have put lighted collars around their dogs. It really looks funny, but you just see them galloping down the street there," said Dr. Mejia.

We found pockets of outages throughout Bay View, but Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevich says there's been an uptick in streetlight outages citywide and that it happens every year "when snow thaws and water meets our aging underground infrastructure." She said, "repairs are being made as quickly as possible."

Milwaukee uses a series of circuitry for 40% of its streetlights, and similar to a string of old Christmas lights, when one goes out, the entire strand is bad. 

Ald. Dimitrijevich says the turnaround time is currently about six days from when an outage is first reported. The people who live here say it's been well over six days.

There is a number to call to report a streetlight outage. It's 414-296-2489.