Highland Park, Mich. has a streetlight problem of staggering proportions, but it’s an issue that a small group of citizens believe they can remedy.
Faced with $58 million in municipal debt and a $60,000 monthly electric bill it could not pay last year, it decided to physically remove 1,000 of its 1,500 streetlights to help lower utility costs. the decision may have saved the city money, but it also left residents in the dark.
Tired of just accepting a permanent night-time blackout for much of the city, cafe owner A.J. O’Neil banded together with several Highland Park residents to find a solution. They believe the answer to the city’s lighting woes lies with crowd-funded solar powered streetlights — and they’re making progress on their vision. The first of these lights was installed Tuesday at 150 Victor St. near the historic backdrop of the United States’ first automotive assembly plant — just in time for Thanksgiving.
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