Neighbors along West Woodlawn Avenue near Woodlawn Lake Park say a stretch of streetlights has been out for weeks, raising safety concerns for drivers and pedestrians who use the busy road at night.
Residents said the lights have been out for at least a month, leaving parts of the street dark between Wilson Boulevard and Lake Boulevard. The affected stretch is nearly half a mile long.
“It gets pretty dark,” said Jesse Martinez, who lives along West Woodlawn Avenue. “It’s been going on at least a month, close to two months.”
Mary Ann Casarez, another resident, said the lack of lighting is especially concerning because so many people walk to and from the lake.
“It’s a really busy street, and then a lot of people walk to and from the lake on either side of the street, so to me it is pretty dangerous,” Casarez said.
Along West Woodlawn Avenue between Kappman and Lake Boulevard, two streetlight poles are down, with caution tape surrounding exposed wires. Residents believe at least one pole may have been knocked down in a crash, though that has not been confirmed.
During an overnight visit, KSAT observed the dark stretch of roadway after 11 p.m. With the vehicle’s headlights on, visibility along the street was limited. Without the headlights, it was pitch black, with very little light coming from nearby homes.
Residents said they are particularly concerned about pedestrian safety as Halloween approaches and more children are expected to walk through the neighborhood for trick-or-treating.
“With Halloween coming up, this area gets really packed with all the kiddos walking around,” Casarez said.
Martinez said many children walk along the street and urged drivers to be cautious.
“Tons of kids. They’re all walking up and down the street,” Martinez said.
When asked what he would tell families if the lights were still out by Halloween, Martinez encouraged people to stay alert.
“Be watchful,” he said. “Watch what you’re doing and don’t go off hauling butt to the next stop.”
Residents said they have contacted both the city and CPS Energy over the past several weeks in hopes of getting the lights repaired.
Casarez said she initially submitted a request through 311 and was directed to CPS Energy. She said she contacted the utility multiple times but did not receive a response to her first message.
“The second time they said they were backlogged,” Casarez said.
Martinez said he believes the issue needs prompt attention from the city and the utility.
“It should be a concern for the city and CPS (Energy) to take care of it pretty quickly,” he said.
KSAT contacted two city departments about the outage and was directed to CPS Energy. The utility was first emailed Monday and responded with a statement on Wednesday saying they’re working on fixing the lights.
“CPS Energy’s contractors are actively working to restore the streetlight poles and lights in the Woodland lake area,” the utility said. “We encourage customers to report streetlight outages by calling our Energy Advisors at 210-353-2222 or through our streetlight portal at cpsenergy.com/streetlight.”
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