MINNEAPOLIS — Mayor Jacob Frey's proposed biennial budget includes $1.66 billion for 2023 and $1.71 billion for 2024. If city council adopts it Tuesday, $9 million would be allocated toward repairing and replacing street lights.
"There's some parts of Minneapolis that have no street lights," said council member LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the city's northernmost ward. "There's also some parts of Minneapolis who have streetlights that have like a 30-year lifespan and we're at year 30."
Vetaw says the lighting would impact the Como, Loring Park, Marcy Holmes and Stevens Square neighborhoods.
"There's over 400 lights in my ward that needs to be transitioned to LED," Vetaw said. "The money that we have in the budget is not for every single light but it's what we think we can get accomplished in this budget cycle."
According to Xcel Energy, LED lights are estimated to save Minneapolis about $150,000 a year in energy costs.
The LED lights are bright. Back in 2019, Fulton neighborhood resident Nick Schommer spoke to KARE 11 after a new streetlight drastically illuminated his home.
"I like the economy they say it brings but it would be nice to get it out of my bedroom window," he said.
Others worry the lights would obscure the night sky and are requesting the City keep nature and quality of life in mind. According to the International Dark Sky Association, "inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light – known as light pollution – can have serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife, and our climate." The group, which has a Minneapolis chapter, lists components of light pollution on its website.
Street lamp direction can be changed upon request. Vetaw encourages residents to report outages and is leading an initiative, Get Lit Minneapolis, to brighten streets and help residents feel safer.
"There's not a week that goes by that I've been in office that someone hasn't called," the Ward 4 council member said. "We had young people reach out to us and say, 'When we're going to school in the morning it's dark. When we're coming home in the evening it's dark.'"
"I know there are some concerns for some groups but like it means safety to a lot of people," she continued. "I have public safety issues in my ward... This is something the city should be doing. If we can do this to make people feel safer we should."
The final public hearing on the proposed budget, which includes the street light improvements, is Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. in room 317 at city hall.
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