Mayor Bass unveils installation of solar streetlights in historic Filipinotown to improve public safety

By Chelsea Hylton

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) — Mayor Karen Bass unveiled the installation of new solar streetlights in the historic Filipinotown Wednesday morning.

In a statement announcing the installation, Bass said the streetlights are part of efforts to keep communities safe and well-lit.

“I personally would like to see this all over the city,” Bass told reporters at the unveiling event.

City officials believe the solar-powered lights will also help decrease copper wire theft in the Filipinotown neighborhood.

“We know that one of the problems that we face in the city is copper wire theft,” Bass said. “We know that LAPD has a copper wire task force and they’ve been able to make many arrests, but at the end of the day, we have to come up with a better way of keeping our streets lit and this is a perfect example.”

She said several hundred solar lights were going to be installed in the area.

The Bureau of Street Lighting is also installing solar lights in the Watts area. Bass’ office said last year she announced the first phase of this initiative in the San Fernando Valley. More than 100 lights were installed in a residential neighborhood and an elementary school.

“When people say they ‘do not feel safe,’ one of the reasons they don’t feel safe is they drive up and down their streets or walk and at night it is completely dark,” Bass said. “That is a basic point for safety.”

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