Since March of 2006, a committee of local residents have been meeting to learn what
is required to deal with areas within the community that do not have sufficient
or appropriate night time street lighting. As many Windsor Square residents
know, there have been longstanding problems with illicit activity that takes
place after dark on unlighted streets in the neighborhood. Many years ago,
our neighbors in Hancock Park did a comprehensive upgrading of the lights
on their streets. For Windsor Square, however, we still have portions of
some streets with no street lights at all, particularly on the east-west
streets – First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth.
The increasing incidences of vagrants loitering on bus benches and neighborhood
streets only compound the longtime problems of prostitutes from adjacent
business districts directing their customers to drive them to dark sections
of our family neighborhoods. Police statistics show a 50% decrease in
crime when adequate street lights are in place. Our Windsor Square Street
Lighting Committee has studied the entire area between Hancock Park and
Wilton Place, from Beverly to Wilshire Boulevards. Based on residents’
requests and complaints forwarded by the Fourth District Council Office
to the Association, plus the committee’s own detailed surveys, the
committee developed a map of areas where it believes lighting improvements
should be made.
Based on the committee’s careful analyses of specific neighborhoods
with particular lighting challenges, we believe our Windsor Square and
Ridgewood-Wilton communities need approximately 206 new, replacement,
or additional ornamental concrete street lights.
We believe that it is important for interested neighbors to attend future
meetings of the committee not only to learn about the benefits of the
proposed street lighting projects, but also to learn about the process
for obtaining these improvements. Because the property owners receive
the benefits, the property owners (or our successors if we sell) are the
ones who pay for the improvements. Please come to a meeting and learn
the details of the process, which involves the Bureau of Street Lighting
conducting a straw poll of the property owners, followed by an actual
mail-in vote of the owners if the straw poll indicates strong enough interest
in the project.
If you have
any questions about this project please feel free to email
and ask that your email be forwarded to committee chairman John Welborne.
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