Southeast : SHEDDING LIGHT
A recent decision by the Long Beach City Council promises to shed new light on city streets.
The council voted unanimously last week to pull the plug on more than 30,000 yellow street lamps across the city and replace them with white lights.
The switch will take three to five years to complete and cost about the same as maintaining the city’s current lighting system, parts of which are 70 years old.
Residents have complained about the lights’ murky yellow glow ever since the lamps were installed during the energy crisis of the late 1970s.
Although the new lights will be less efficient, they may prove more safe, said city engineer Edward Putz. Under white lights, people can better distinguish between colors, which will make police reports more accurate, Putz said.
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