Darkness on Main
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Brake lights outshine the unlit street lights on this dark stretch of Main street, south of 5th.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — If Main street has seemed a bit dark lately, it's not your imagination.
Street lights along Main street between 4th and 7th have been unlit for weeks, and contacting the city doesn't seem to lead to answers.
The impact of the darkened lights is somewhat lessened by the sidewalk lighting installed recently by the Historic Downtown BID. The lights are mounted on building facades, and have stayed lit during the street light outage.
Residents who notice street light outages are supposed to call 3-1-1, the city's general contact number. Our own Dave Bullock called two weeks ago to report the Main street outage, and spoke to the Bureau of Street Lighting. They blamed the problem on a bad timer, transferring his call to DWP. DWP promised to fix the issue, but weeks later the street remains unlit. Other readers have reported similar calls to the city.
Multi-block outages aren't a new thing for Downtown's streets. We've reported about a long outage on 7th and a similar darkness on 5th.
shannon on February 04, 2009, at 11:59PM – #1
i've found that the online form works better than calling. have used it numerous times in the past with quick results. i just submitted the info...can't hurt to keep reporting it until the problem is fixed.
Caryn Ho on February 05, 2009, at 09:41AM – #2
Ouch! This really concerns me because I'm one of the new 220 plus tenants moving into SB Main at the corner of 7th and main and many of us have to park next door to the building just north on Main St. I can't believe this isn't treated as an emergency with crews responding immediately like they would in the Westside neighborhoods that I am moving from. Just wait till I get down there and we'll see about this. I'll be moving in 2 weeks and can't wait to join the neighborhood.
Bartleight on February 05, 2009, at 10:57AM – #3
I just submitted a repair request via the on-line form in an effort to increase the number of complaints. Hopefully the volume of requests will draw attention to the need for repair, but we'll see.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on February 05, 2009, at 11:23AM – #4
I spoke to someone in the city who confirmed that the issue is with DWP. Apparently the lights just aren't getting any power.
Jacob on February 05, 2009, at 11:28AM – #5
And it hasn't been just Main Street. I've noticed it on Los Angeles and Spring and, the first night I noticed it a few weeks ago, it was even up as far as Grand. Some nights, I joke that the city is purposefully turning them off to save money.
It's my impression that well-lit streets are important for a safer city. Rich and I called 311, and were told the city would be out "at the end of the week" - that is, 4 or 5 days later! Sure, the lights came on... but went off again.
Especially because we walk around so often, because Rich was recently robbed, and because robberies are becoming more common in surrounding communities, I think this is very important.
I'm wondering if this is the same problem Los Angeles has been having for some time: Are people stealing the copper wiring?
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on February 05, 2009, at 11:39AM – #6
You would imagine that copper wire thefts are way down lately thanks to a precipitous drop in scrap metal prices. Those thefts also tend to leave plenty of evidence on the street -- the robbers aren't that worried about hiding their work.
Jacob on February 05, 2009, at 03:19PM – #7
Maybe there's a wall of switches somewhere and someone forgot to turn them on?
Susana Benavidez on February 06, 2009, at 08:16AM – #8
Call Jacob Motta (Director of Constituent Services)at the Mayor's Office Work Phone (213) 922-9787 He's very helpful - if not, tell him Susana told you to call him :)
neighbor on February 06, 2009, at 10:15PM – #9
Is it dark on Main Street I hadn't noticed. I'm certainly not going to go on a middle class crusade about it... I'd feel like kind of a jerk given the state of the economy, the world, the homeless situation, layoffs among educators and state workers.
I can probably tough it out with the light from surrounding buildings and cars passing by. After all, this is DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, not a condominium complex in Calabasas. Just because you can get an apartment that's "new" doesn't mean the neighborhood automatically turns into Downtown Disney. Has anyone looked back on the past 50 years of history down here?
Ryan Price on February 06, 2009, at 10:16PM – #10
My comment just posted, and then was deleted immediately, so I'll try to re-phrase this in a manner that will survive the comment police:
Caryn Ho's comment regarding how we should have emergency crews down here immediately following a burnt bulb concerns me. I think that people with these kinds of expectations of downtown should seriously reconsider their move.
Let's all please take into consideration the history of the streets we now live on. Too often I hear people on these blogs complaining about the lack of services, or the amount of people around after dark.
Where's the outrage about the jagged metal railings that were just installed on the planters on this same stretch of Main st? These are obviously meant to deter the Leonides from sitting on this planters. These people have been living on this street for far longer than we have and they're being targeted as riff raff.
These are the things we should be discussing. These prima donna attitudes I see here are disappointing.
neighbor on February 06, 2009, at 10:20PM – #11
Extremely disappointing! The Leonides are my absolute, favorite thing about living down here. They make me so happy on a daily basis with their conversation and good naturedness. They are the sweetest people I've met in the Los Angeles area and I've lived in the vicinity since I was THREE years old.
Jasmijn on February 07, 2009, at 10:30AM – #12
It looks like we are seeing a clash of two realities here. Reality(a): Downtown has been run down for a while and things are old and often not a high priority to fix, and there are many people who have been living here that do not conform to "nice" societal norms. Reality (b): in a residential area, safety issues are important and a lot of "bad stuff" can be prevented with good lighting, never mind making things pleasant for everyone.
I'm pretty sure none of us has moved downtown with the express purpose of getting robbed, spat on, yelled at for not giving other people money, etc. I also don't think many of us moved here because we always wanted to live on Universal CityWalk or think this is the next Porter Ranch. We are willing to make adjustments and most of us here seem to really love living in the heart of our city, warts and all.
But just as it's unfair to expect Downtown to be exactly like West L.A., it's unfair to belittle us for wanting to have a certain basic level of safety, and working on achieving that. Surely this benefits everyone, whether we want to be safe walking from the parking lot to the apartment building or setting up a little tent along an unused part of an empty lot.
Benjamin Pezzillo on February 07, 2009, at 06:56PM – #13
In general, most Downtown streets are far brighter than the rest of the streets of Los Angeles.
I walk this patch of Main Street on my nightly dog walk and haven't noticed a dramatic difference. What I have seen are DWP crews doing work under the street so perhaps the lights are off as a safety measure until that work is completed.
If you want to see dark, there is a patch of Los Angeles Street between Olympic and Venice that has been without working street lights for well over a year...
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on February 07, 2009, at 07:13PM – #14
Ben: The impression that I've gotten when asking about these lights is that the outage isn't intentional, or at least not that Street Services knows about.
But I agree -- Main street is saved by having the building-mounted BID lights along that stretch.
li on February 07, 2009, at 07:43PM – #15
When did working streetlights become a bourgeois affectation? You think homeless people like walking in the dark? They are the most likely to be victimized by street crime and lighting the streets helps deter street crime.
Chris S on February 08, 2009, at 11:12AM – #16
Is this still a problem? Would anyone on here be willing to do a quick on-camera interview for this. I would like to do it as a broadcast package. I am a graduate journalism student at USC. Please contact me at 516974054 and let me know if this is still an issue and if you would be willing to speak on camera between now and Tuesday. Thank you.
Rob on February 08, 2009, at 11:39AM – #17
We taxpayers downtown want what everyone else wants..clean streets that are well lit, clean sidewalks, safe neighborhoods. I also noticed that Broadway south of downtown has a lot of streetlights out as well so I sent an email request to the bureau of street lights but never received a response.
If the jagged metal railings keep the urine and feces out of the planters....great idea. I love healthy trees more the smell of piss! Should we take the razor wires off the freeway signs so the taggers take over? Ridiculous complaint.
Ryan Price on February 09, 2009, at 11:44AM – #18
Rob - The jagged metal railings don't discourage defecation or urination (think about the logistics of that, if you will), they discourage sitting. Last year the city removed the few benches that lined Main st, so the residents of the hotels along this street have resorted to sitting on the planters.
The rooms these people live in are tiny, so they use the street as their living room. And, I'm quite happy they do, as they're one of my favorite things about my neighborhood. (Bongos and good soul jams anyone?)
This is not a 'ridiculous complaint' at all. These people are being targeted as unwanted one missing bench or intalled jagged metal railing at a time.
neighbor on February 09, 2009, at 11:53AM – #19
li - working street lights might not necessarily be a bourgeois affectation but they are certainly not an "emergency" when set against the background of everything else happening in the entire city of los angeles.
A light goes out on Main on February 09, 2009, at 12:53PM – #20
and it's an emergency?
What about the chronic emergency of thousands of people without food or a roof or the lack of public toilets downtown where people are forced to shit on the sidewalk?
Pug Walker on February 11, 2009, at 05:55PM – #21
Thank you for giving me a different perspective on the planters and the residents who hang out there. I grumble because I've been kept awake many nights by Leonides residents and others who hang out at the planters because my room at the Rosslyn is directly above. I can't say I haven't wished the planters would disappear one day, but to be honest all the people have been pretty cool to me and I've never felt afraid.
Bert Green on February 12, 2009, at 12:55PM – #22
Does anyone really believe that the city should be allowed to let services slip in poor neighborhoods? That seems to be the gist of "neighbor's" argument: how dare anyone demand that the city do its job...
Services to the homeless could be better, but its NOT true that nobody is working on that either. Ever heard of Project 50? Soon to be Project 500, and then maybe Project 5000. It's working. And the public toilets that have been installed recently, the ones that replaced the porta-potties a few years back. Should we all have just sat back and accepted a low level of service from the city, and not demanded any of this too? It's not true that there are no toilets, so if people are shitting on the street whose fault is that?
There was a time not too long ago when Main Street was a drug dealers paradise. That's gone because of the activism of our neighbors and the improved lighting, working with the police. Who has benefitted the most from this? The low income residents and the homeless. You think I'm making tis up? Ask them.
In the past the lights used to go off ALL the time in this area, and that is why the BID installed the building lighting. Had that not been done, Main Street would be in complete darkness. This is not safe for anyone.
I for one am glad that my neighbors take enough pride in where they live to insist that city do what it is supposed to do.
Polly Anna on February 12, 2009, at 06:55PM – #23
Oh, honey, if you think the drug trade is gone, you really are naive.
There's still tons of dope bein slang up and down Main Street. It's not just on Los Angeles St and east.
And all the razor-blade tree planters aint gonna slow it down -- not with the downtown lofters and their crystal / coke / dope addictions. It might seem like the streets are gettin cleaned up but the drugs are still all over downtown, in nearly every bathroom in every bar and lounge. There's more than one spot thats a front for a delivery service and salads aint the only thing they're delivering.
Toot Toot
Bert Green on February 13, 2009, at 12:32PM – #24
Poly Anna, or whoever you are behind your phony name. You are an idiot. I did not say that there was no drug problem downtown, I said that Main Street used to be a drug dealers paradise. That was long before you came here and declared yourself an expert.
What are you doing to improve downtown LA?
Polly Anna on February 13, 2009, at 03:25PM – #25
Not acting as the omniscient mayor of Main and 5th, for starters.
Sorry, Burp, when I arrived here 14 years ago, we didn't sign a guarantee about pitching in to improve downtown.
Calling someone an idiot on a blog is funny.
P
Bert Green on February 14, 2009, at 10:30PM – #26
Silly Polly: Sorry to hear you have so little regard for your neighborhood. That's one thing that's not so funny. Pompous, but not funny.