Council member hears plan to repair 4.5 miles of Salinas streetlight wiring after copper thefts

A Salinas council member asked city staff for an update on persistent streetlight outages after residents reported dark blocks. A city staff member said the outages are not new fixtures but damaged wiring and estimated about ‘‘8 miles of street lights where, they're not working right now.’’

The staff member said most outages result from copper theft: criminals pry open streetlight handholds, pull wiring and cause extended outages across whole runs of lights. To keep the repairs from being simply re‑targeted, staff said the city will install reinforced lids on handholds that staff said they ‘‘actually tested with sledgehammers’’ to ensure they resist tampering.

City staff described a two‑phase approach. In the near term the city will use a standing contractor to repair wiring in priority corridors — Sanborn between Fairview and Abbott, Work Street between John and Sanborn, and East Allisal between JD Alvarado and Madera — covering about 4.5 miles. Staff provided an estimated cost of "About $300,000 worth of work." The staff member said the city expects to restore roughly half of the roughly 8 miles of outages "over the next couple months," and will continue work on remaining segments as budget and staff availability allow.

Staff also explained that routine bulb replacements will continue through the city's existing service queue; city crews will replace bulbs where that is the issue. Some outages, however, are caused by low voltage that requires the utility PG&E to investigate rather than a simple bulb swap.

A staff member noted the city relies on a small in‑house crew that handles multiple tasks — sign work, curb painting and responding to outages — and that the contractor being hired specializes in repairing streetlight wiring and traffic signals. The staff member said the reinforced lids and contractor repairs together are intended to reduce repeat thefts and keep lights functioning.

The council member closed by telling residents they should notice improved lighting in targeted neighborhoods soon and that the city is taking steps to both repair and protect wiring to limit future outages. No formal vote or ordinance was recorded during the conversation.