ATLANTA — A push to make Atlanta safer through more street lighting may get a new boost of funding Monday.
Atlanta City Council is set to discuss Phase 3 of the "Light up the Night" initiative, a partnership which brings together the city's Department of Transportation and Georgia Power in an effort to increase street lighting and ultimately, improve community safety.
The plan was first announced by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in 2021 as part of an anti-crime initiative with the then-mayor citing similar plans in New York and Detroit that helped curb crime. The initiative has since gained steam under Mayor Andre Dickens' administration.
"The light allows us to have pedestrian safety, to guard against crashes and crime," Mayor Dickens remarked in a 2022 press conference. "For motorists, for cyclists, for people in wheelchairs."
City leaders along with partner Georgia Power later announced the initial goal of installing and upgrading 10,000 street lights was surpassed in 2022. City Council will now consider an amendment to the city's prior agreement with the power company, which would add up to $3.9 million in additional funding to install more street lights at key locations around the city and upgrade existing street lights to LED.
The motion to bring the funding to full council for consideration passed last Wednesday's transportation committee (5-0), following an amendment by District 9 Councilmember Dustin Hillis. He called for councilmembers to receive a map indicating which of Atlanta's neighborhoods would benefit from the third phase of the program.
"I know this is something that began under the previous administration as supposed to be a really big deal, 'Light Up the Night' as stated, but District 9 unfortunately received very little in terms of new street lights," Hillis said.
"We have neighborhoods that are still pretty dark," the councilman added.
Commissioner Solomon Caviness of the Atlanta Department of Transportation told the committee the department continues to look at areas that are "in desperate need and continuous need for lighting for safety, equity throughout the city."
The department, he said, has been taking the most recent street light audit data and sharing such feedback with Georgia Power as part of the third phase rollout.
Full council meets Monday at 1 p.m. Residents can report a street light outage here.