To the editor: This difficulty of wire theft has been happening for some years now (“Copper thefts turned these upscale L.A. streets pitch darkish. Pissed off residents are preventing again,” Jan. 21). As an out of doors lighting skilled with greater than 60 years of expertise, this is a matter that, fairly frankly, could be very irritating. Why? As a result of for a minimum of the previous decade, I’ve tried mightily to get town of Los Angeles to pull itself into the twenty first century concerning photo voltaic avenue lighting.
I dwell within the San Fernando Valley on a foremost avenue and thieves regularly steal the underground wiring of the streetlights, making a darkish hall. So, what did town do? It changed the wiring and “fortified” the underground pullboxes by tearing up and repairing the sidewalks (and never fixing any damaged areas!) and overlaying the pullboxes in concrete, marked within the cement as a deterrent.
What occurred subsequent? The vandals got here by, punched a gap within the concrete and eliminated the wire — once more.
I’ve supplied my providers to the Bureau of Road Lighting to no avail. I’ve spoken with metropolis leaders after I get the prospect to no avail. I assume from me, a median resident and citizen, the repair is simply too simple and won’t be thought-about.
Take away the present LED lighting fixtures. Exchange them with photo voltaic lighting fixtures. Take away the underground wiring and scrap to mitigate a few of the price of the sunshine swap. And eventually, repair the sidewalks.
Ricc Bieber, Northridge
