Streetlights keep going out in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood, and residents want answers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Neighbors in the South Side's Woodlawn neighborhood say their streetlights are unreliable and they are getting left in the dark.
They said the streetlights are on some nights, but off others—and it is a safety issue.
One such neighbor is Marsha Hall. Whenever she steps out of her home in Woodlawn, she never knows what to expect.
"Our biggest dilemma is no lights, no streetlights—which is terrifying," Hall said.
Sure, lights go out in neighborhoods from time to time. But Hall and her neighbors have been experiencing the darkness on Marquette Road between University and Ellis avenues for numerous nights.
"We've been calling to report this weekly ever since May," Hall said. "It's been going on for months and months."
Hall said the lights will come on for a night, then remain off consecutively for days.
The lights were dark when CBS News Chicago visited Thursday night—and it was the second time this week. Neighbors have complained to 311, the alderman, and directly to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
"We threw it out there—does it need new wirings? is somebody getting access to the boxes and cutting them off?" Hall said. "What is going on?
But never knowing when the block will be dark or not is getting old.
"We are terrified when we don't have streetlights at night," Hall said. "We all come in and out of our garages in order to get to our homes. We don't park in the garages. We park on the streets."
There are lights illuminating sidewalks at some points in the neighborhood, but they are attached to the exterior wall of a residential building.
Neighbors say they pay too much in taxes to deal with not having streetlights night after night.
"Why can't we get this together?" Hall said. "I wonder—not only for our neighborhood, but why are the lights such an issue in the city?"
Hall emailed CDOT Thursday morning. CDOT replied, "Repairman was there today, replace some equipment and checked the circuit complete."
But on Thursday night, the streetlights were dark again.
Hall said it is time for action.
"We're doing the best we can, but we need this to be fixed and solved immediately," she said.
CDOT said Friday it investigated the outages, and determined they were likely caused by the weather, and was working on repairs.
"Winds, rainstorms, and other weather events can cause issues such as wires touching and tripping the breaker, trees contacting overhead wiring, or ground saturation after rain. To address these potential causes, CDOT inspected the electrical connections at the poles, replaced worn sections of overhead wire, and coordinated with Forestry for tree trimming. CDOT will continue to closely monitor the circuit," a CDOT spokesperson said in an email.