LYNCHBURG, Va. – Hundreds of streetlights are out Tuesday night across Lynchburg, impacting many areas of the city’s more than 10,000 streetlights.
Vice Mayor Curt Diemer has been driving around the city, checking the lights one by one after neighbors on Leesville Road raised concerns about outages.
“There was a systemic problem, so I started to investigate it a little more deeply and that’s when I found out how extensive the problem was,” Diemer said.
The vice mayor says he has not yet been able to inspect every neighborhood, but confirms that hundreds of streetlights remain dark.
Downtown residents are feeling the impact, especially during nighttime events.
“What you have is a potential problem with crime and also people getting hit because it’s difficult in the evenings in particular,” said Jocelyn Hall, a Lynchburg resident.
Hall added, “Downtown it’s more noticeable. When you have an event at night, you really notice it.”
The city is actively working on better ways to track and report streetlight outages to speed up repairs. However, there is no timeline yet for when a new reporting system might be implemented.
“People appreciate that we’re trying to bring attention to this issue. They know it’s been an issue for a while. Anecdotally, I’ve heard probably hundreds of people saying ‘come to my neighborhood, I’ve got one out here, I’ve got one out there,’” Diemer said.
Residents are encouraged to stay alert when out after dark and report any outages they notice to help the city address the problem more efficiently.