After years of widespread streetlight outages in Boyle Heights and other parts of LA’s Council District 14, a motion introduced Tuesday could establish a dedicated repair crew to address the backlog.
The motion, introduced by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, calls for the creation of a specialized streetlight repair crew that would address widespread outages caused by copper wire theft and aging infrastructure — issues that have left major corridors like the 6th Street Bridge in the dark for nearly two years.
If approved, $1.07 million in discretionary funds will be directed to the Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Street Lighting to form the repair team, which will specialize in maintaining, repairing and upgrading streetlights across the district for the rest of the fiscal year. Councilmembers can spend discretionary funds for community needs as they see fit.
“When streetlight outages leave working-class neighborhoods in the dark, it’s not just about inconvenience: it’s about inequity,” wrote Councilmember Ysabel Jurado in a press release. “These outages reveal long-standing gaps in service and leave residents vulnerable. This motion is a critical step toward ensuring every community has reliable, well-maintained streetlights.”
The City Council motion is expected to appear on next week’s agenda.
A history of dark streets and delayed fixes
Streetlight outages have hit communities like Boyle Heights, downtown LA, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights hard, where blocks of residential and commercial areas have grappled with darkness for years.
Aging infrastructure, copper wire theft and delayed repairs have led to nearly 2,000 service requests issued in Boyle Heights in the last year, according to the motion.
On the 6th Street Bridge alone, more than 38,000 feet of copper wire have been stolen — worth an estimated $11,000 in scrap value, but costing more than $2.5 million in repairs according to local officials.
Citywide, streetlight complaints jumped 43% last year compared to the previous year, according to LAist. Neighborhoods like downtown LA and Boyle Heights topped the list with the most complaints.
The city cites budget shortfalls and a lack of maintenance staff for the poor response to the growing number of complaints about out-of-order streetlights.
Bigger fixes on the table
After joining the City Council in 2024, one of Jurado’s first actions was directing the Bureau of Street Lighting to conduct a comprehensive analysis of streetlight outages in CD 14, although the results of the analysis have not yet been made publicly available.
At the state level, pending legislation looks to increase penalties for junk metal buyers and restrict the market for thieves looking to sell stolen copper wire.
Meanwhile, a Bureau of Street Lighting ballot measure to expand the department’s yearly budget is expected to go before property owners this coming winter, according to LAist.
The measure would ask residents whether they’d agree to pay higher annual fees to help the city of Los Angeles more quickly repair and fortify its streetlights — a frequent target of copper wire thieves.