Willow Glen Long Dark Night: It has been more than 258 days since Creek Drive in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood last saw the glow of a functioning streetlight. What began as a minor inconvenience has grown into a significant frustration for residents, compounded by a surge in criminal activity. Frustratingly, they’ve been unable to get a clear answer about why the streetlight remains in disrepair.
Diana Castro, a resident on the block, expressed her disbelief, stating, “It’s kind of hard to believe, but we have been without a streetlight since February.” The absence of light stems from a brief power outage earlier this year, and the streetlight simply never reignited.
Traci Armstrong, a neighbor, voiced the shared exasperation, saying, “We’ve just been strung along for months now. The city pointing the finger at PG&E, and PG&E pointing the finger at the city.”
In a recent effort to draw attention to their ordeal, residents added a sign to the area, tallying the days without a working streetlight. They also expressed their frustration online.
Jennifer Mowery, another neighbor, explained the motivation behind their action, stating, “After about 8 months of waiting, we needed to help them connect the dots.”
The lack of illumination has brought with it an unfortunate increase in criminal incidents. There have been several car break-ins, as well as thefts at a home construction site, including the theft of a $12,000 trailer and, a few months later, $8,000 worth of tools.
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San Jose city officials acknowledged that the streetlight should have been repaired long ago. The city’s representatives first visited the site on April 4 and subsequently referred the issue to PG&E on April 10.
The specific streetlight in question had been upgraded and converted to LED lights. Colin Heyne from the City of San Jose’s Department of Transportation explained, “So the light itself should work just fine, but it doesn’t have any power going to it. We need PG&E to turn that power on.”
PG&E responded by stating that the light is owned and maintained by the City of San Jose. However, they have now “escalated the issue,” and a PG&E crew has been scheduled to energize the streetlight on Tuesday morning.
While the cause of the delay remains unclear, residents are relieved that a resolution is finally in sight. Diana Castro summed up the sentiment, emphasizing the investment of tax dollars in Willow Glen and urging, “Come on, get me a streetlight.”