Darkened streets in Gary will soon shine brighter in areas that have gone without adequate street lighting for nearly a decade. The Gary Common Council passed an ordinance this week supporting a proposed $3.4 million project to address the longstanding issue of inactive streetlights throughout the city.
The addition of streetlights was welcoming news to Gary residents. Devin Smith of Gary, who drives for Uber part time, was pleased. “That’s a big part of rebuilding the city,” Smith told Capital B Gary.
Elizabeth Stephans, 81, of the Tolleston neighborhood, echoed Smith’s enthusiasm, expressing relief that the project will address the many poorly lit spots in her area. “That’s definitely a good thing because there are some pretty dark streets in our neighborhood”, she said.
Stephans’ neighborhood is one of many across the city that experience multiple dark patches resulting from streetlights that have either been knocked down in traffic incidents or have burned out over time.
The Tolleston neighborhood rests in one of three districts that will see the most immediate action, according to Gary’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Suggs. “We’ll address this project in phases and prioritize areas of the city that we have identified as having the most outages, such as Districts 2, 3, and 4,” Suggs said.
District 2 includes Gary’s Brunswick and Ambridge-Mann neighborhoods, District 3 covers the Tolleston and West Side neighborhoods, and District 4 encompasses the Midtown and Downtown Gary neighborhoods.
The city’s next step is to issue a 30-day request for proposals, after which the selected vendor will begin replacing the overhead lights and structures.
City engineer William Allen noted that an assessment by TWiG Technologies identified nearly 900 non-functional poles, both LED and non-LED, with an additional 100 that had been knocked down. Many of the city’s downed poles resulted from traffic accidents, raising concerns among council members about the city’s ability to recoup costs from such incidents.
City Attorney Rodney Pol could not provide the city’s exact success rate for recouping cost in such instances but assured the council that the law department follows a thorough process to ensure the city receives compensation when accidents occur.
Funds for the “Relight the City” program come from the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by the Biden administration in 2021. These ARPA funds have been pivotal in many of the city’s major spending plans. It financed raises for city and public safety employees and contributed $10 million to the $30 million Tolleston YMCA project.
“This is a transformative project. I’m really excited about the investment this body has made in our city’s infrastructure,” said Council Vice President Lori Latham.