Mayor Mary Sheffield has ordered Detroit to quite literally brighten up. Yesterday, she signed an executive order telling the Detroit Public Lighting Authority to bring back mid-block streetlights on residential streets, a move city officials say will mean at least 3,000 new fixtures in neighborhoods. Installation is set to start in early July as the city tries to fill in the dark patches left behind by a previous overhaul and boost both safety and everyday livability.
Funding and who will pay
The rollout is being funded in part by a $1 million line item in the mayor’s proposed FY2027 budget. The Detroit Public Lighting Authority will handle the capital investment and pick up the ongoing tab for powering and maintaining the new streetlights, ClickOnDetroit reported. Crews are expected to focus on mid-block stretches of residential streets where corner poles currently leave the middle of the block sitting in the dark.
Officials, advocates and the plan
“This is about improving safety, strengthening the quality of life, and making sure that every block in our city gets the attention that it deserves,” Sheffield said, per ClickOnDetroit. Beau Taylor, executive director of the Detroit Public Lighting Authority, has called the rollout a “community-centered approach,” saying the extra fixtures will be placed where they can have the greatest impact on safety and visibility on neighborhood streets.
How we got here
Back in 2014, Detroit launched a major relighting campaign that swapped in roughly 65,000 energy-efficient LED fixtures and reconfigured a crumbling system, as detailed by GovTech. That effort dramatically modernized city lighting but also removed some mid-block fixtures that were never replaced, leaving residential gaps that residents have complained about ever since. The new push is being billed as a first phase that will go back into neighborhoods to restore coverage and that could, in future phases, look at alley lighting or decorative options in historic districts.
Community input and next steps
The city and the Public Lighting Authority plan to hold community meetings in April to gather residents’ priorities on where the new lights should go before any shovels hit the ground. Sheffield rolled out the initiative in front of the home of longtime resident Cynthia Loggins, whose block lost a mid-block light in 2019.
What to watch
City Council President James Tate said the council will keep tabs on how the project unfolds and work with the administration to make sure the final lighting map reflects what neighbors say they need and that the city’s dollars are used wisely. Installation crews are expected to start work in early July, with the April feedback sessions and additional neighborhood outreach shaping where, exactly, those 3,000 new fixtures end up.
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