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DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Public Lighting Authority has finished replacing nearly 20,000 defective streetlights in Detroit.
In May, the PLA filed a lawsuit against Leotek Electronics, which made about a third of the LED streetlights, because of a defect that causes them to burn out several years ahead of the lights' 10-year life expectancy.
The PLA began replacing the affected lights on the most heavily trafficked areas first before moving on to neighborhood streets.
“As the days grow shorter and kids have returned to school, it was important that we get these defective lights replaced so that our children aren’t walking in the dark,” said Beau Taylor, executive director of the PLA. “Detroit has come a long way in the last five years, when more than 40 percent of the city’s streetlights did not work and it could take years to get a broken light fixed. As Detroit continues its comeback, this type of prompt response and successful resolution will be seen not as an accomplishment but as an expectation.”
If residents see a problem with a streetlight, they can report it 24 hours a day, seven days a week online at www.pladetroit.org, by calling (313)324-8290, e-mailing info@pladetroit.org or through the Improve Detroit smartphone app.
