Blog: Following the Trail of Tredyffrin's Burned-out Light Bulbs . . .

At the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors meeting this week, under ‘new citizens matter’, I brought up Tredyffrin’s burned-out light bulb situation. Although I have focused on the Chesterbrook community, specifically Chesterbrook and Duportail Roads, I have noticed other non-working street lights in the township (Old Eagle School Road is one example).

My questions to the supervisors and township staff produced some interesting facts:

1. The township (residents) pays PECO per street light post, regardless if there are electrical issues or if the lights are working or not.
2. The township has a yearly maintenance contract with Lenni Electrical to change light bulbs.  Some have suggested that perhaps the township was trying to save money and maybe was not calling the company for maintenance (as a way to avoid service call expenses).  Well, I discovered that the township (residents) pays a flat fee regardless of how many (or how few) times they come out to change the light bulbs!  The taxpayer’s money pays for same price for non-working street lights as it does for working ones.
3. The bright pink ribbons are placed on street poles by township staff to indicate to Lenni Electrical where light bulbs need replacing.  I noticed driving to the township building that there are pink ribbons on street lights that have working light bulbs and questioned why weren’t the ribbons removed when the light bulbs were changed?  (This would seem obvious, right.)  According to Steve Burgo, township engineer, the township staff knows that this is a problem and is working with the contractor to get them to remove the pink ribbons as the light bulbs are replaced.

Township manager Mimi Gleason cited ongoing electrical problems on Chesterbrook Boulevard as the cause for the non-working light bulbs. I suggested that the electrical problem with some of the Chesterbrook lights has existed for 27+ years.  I have spoken to a number of residents in the Chesterbrook community who say that the lights have never worked properly.  Although many say that the number of non-working lights has recently escalated. 

There have been a number of comments on Community Matters from residents who state they have repeatedly contact the township in regards to the burned-out lights but to no avail.  Mimi’s response to me was that the staff is working with PECO and offered that State Rep Warren Kampf had been called for assistance.

After leaving the township building, I decided to do a more scientific study of counting the individual burned-out light bulbs on Chesterbrook and Duportail Rds.  I drove down one side of Chesterbrook Blvd. to Valley Forge Road, turned around and drove back, counting as many of the burned-out light bulbs as I could find.  This 2-mile (or less) stretch of roads does not have 19 burned-out light bulbs as I originally thought but there are actually 37 non-working street lights.

Am I the only one who has a problem with this? We are all taxpayers . . .  our money is paying PECO for the street lights, and our money is paying Lenni Electrical to change the light bulbs. Shouldn't working streets be a safety priority? Where is the accountability on this issue?  

I remain hopeful that at least one of our supervisors will take up the cause of non-working township light bulbs.

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