Newton works to shed light on situation
It's bad enough to be walking around in the cold this winter, but walking around in the dark is simply intolerable, say two Newton GlobeWatch readers.
''Please help," implored Michael Grady. He said all but one street light along Priscilla Road is out. ''This is an extremely busy road with lots of car and residential foot traffic, as well as many freshmen Boston College students who use the street to get to their dorms. This is a very dangerous and unsafe situation."
Grady said he has seen a lot of dark streetlights around the city. ''Is this a result of the city taking over the streetlight poles from
Fred Weissman also wrote to say that a half-dozen streetlights along three blocks of Walnut Street in Newton Highlands were kaput. He called the state Highway Department and the city, but nothing has been done.
His early morning walk to the MBTA stop has become a life-threatening expedition, Weissman said.
''It's dark enough with the lights working. The fact that all these lights are out, and there's now ice on the sidewalks, makes for a treacherous walk and someone [probably me] is going to slip or trip over something," he said.
The city responds
GlobeWatch asked city spokesman Jeremy Solomon about the creeping darkness. Yes, he said, the streetlight situation is less than ideal. Newton took over streetlight maintenance from the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant last July 1, Solomon said.
The city inherited more than 100 ''problem" streetlights -- lamps or poles that were burned out or otherwise in need of maintenance. Two Newton employees now work full time on streetlight maintenance.
The city knew about the Walnut Road blackout and ordered high-pressure sodium lamps and other replacement parts on Nov. 21, Solomon said. The materials did not arrive until Dec. 26, a delay the out-of-state manufacturer blamed on Hurricane Katrina.
The lamps will be repaired, but Solomon could not say whether it would take days or several more weeks.
''We do [repairs] in the chronological order of the complaints we receive," he said.
Priscilla Road presents a more difficult problem because it has to do with power supply and the wiring is underground. Newton is battling NStar over who should pay for the costly repairs there and along other streets with the same problem.
''We are working on an agreement," Solomon said. ''The city is very concerned about this area. It is absolutely a public safety issue and we understand your readers' concern."
GLOBEWATCH UPDATE: Last month we wrote about the litany of complaints about
After the column ran, Verizon spokesman Jack Hoey told us that the company would repair the damage as soon as the weather improved. Jaszek checked in, too, last week. He confirmed that company officials also told him they would make repairs in the spring.
ERICA NOONAN 
