TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Westside neighbors are no longer left in the dark on Silverbell Road between Speedway and Grant.
KGUN 9 first heard of the lights not working in the beginning of July by frustrated residents.
One of those residents is Miguel Ortega. He called Silverbell dangerous when it was dark because there’s constant traffic coming to the stores and to Joaquin Murrieta Park.
Angelina Albritton, a mom that lives in the area, says she and her 11-year-old daughter would always walk to the park and Albertsons, but once the lights were out, that took a halt.
"Without having streetlights, it's kinda hard," Albritton said. "Especially it's just me and my daughter. So you don't want to be walking in the dark, so we actually have been taking a break from walking for awhile since there had been no lights."
The City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) says the reason for the outage was because of copper wire theft.
Erica Frazelle, DTM Public Information Officer (PIO), told KGUN 9 in July that it would take about six to nine months to fix the streetlights — but they got way ahead of schedule and repaired this section of lights on August 29.
Albritton says she has taken notice of not only the lights on Silverbell being fixed, but also the ones on Lester Street, where she lives.
“Oh my gosh, especially right here because we have so many kids and the school right here. I would always see groups of kids walking by themselves in the dark and it was such little kids walking in the dark. So it feels way safer now for sure," Albritton said.
She said she's happy the community was heard and that the lights are back.
"Hopefully it stays that way," Albritton said.
If you come across any streetlights that are out, call 311 or download the Tucson 311 app to submit a request.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
