A neighborhood in the College Area is lit up again after being left in the dark for months. “Hallelujah … You know I wanted sing the praises, hallelujah!” Jim Jennings said. Jim is grateful the streetlights in his neighborhood are back on. For months he and other neighbors filed multi ple “Get It Done” requests asking the city to fix the streetlights, citing public safety concerns. “It’s pretty scary, you kind of just run and hope the door unlocks the first time when you get to your door because you just don’t really know what’s out there being out there by yourself as a girl can be pretty scary,” said Alyssa Maddock, a college student who lives in the neighborhood. This past weekend, city officials installed 27 solar streetlights along Rockford Drive in the College Area. Neighbors were relieved to have streetlights back on in their community, but many of them wondered what took so long.   City workers said the existing infrastructure was too old and deteriorated, adding that repairing it would have required more time and money. “The new solars that are installed, they can expect the lights to be functioning until the life-span of the device itself, so no matter what, they’re immune to power losses or grid shutdown from utility, so they’ll be on every night, I can say,” Matthew Aguirre, a streetlight electrician with the City of San Diego said. Councilmember for District 9, Sean-Elo Rivera, said they used about $35,000 from the Community Funds to pay for the lights and labor. On Thursday, he visited the neighborhood and acknowledged receiving multiple Get It Done requests from neighbors. “The reality is too many,” Elo-Rivera said. Elo-Rivera said city budget challenges and staffing shortages made it difficult to address the issue sooner. “First: I’m sorry that they waited as long as they did to get the lights on that they should have had all along. Two: I hope that this is helpful and it provides the lighting that they should’ve had and as a result of that, the neighborhood is better lit. And three: This is exactly why we talk about the city being better-resourced. We want the city to be resourced in a way that delivers excellence to all of our residents,” Elo-Rivera said. “I’m not disappointed it took as long as it did, but at the same time, I would’ve liked to see representatives here sooner,” said Conner Kreizenbeck, who lives in the area. Now, that the lights have been restored, Jim Jennings is grateful he can once again look out his window to the world. “I’m glad they’re up. We got some light. The city did respond somehow, so right now it’s just a wait-and-see,” Jennings said. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said the effort to fund streetlights across the city is something he will continue to prioritize when they put forward their budget numbers. ...read more read less