AKRON — In March, we showed you some dark streets in Akron, troubling neighbors and Ward 2 city councilman Phil Lombardo.
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Since that report, some streetlights have been turned back on, but others remain in the dark. On Riverwoods Drive near the Merriman Valley, a neighbor reached out concerned after a streetlight on his street had been burned out for five years.
"This particular light here has been out for five years now. We've progressively had other lights go out, we've called the city, we've called First Energy, they've been out over the years, and they've looked at them, but yet the lights are still out," said Wade Johnson.
Johnson said their neighborhood is busy for early morning walkers, as it connects directly to the Towpath Trail and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
"You'll get people, early morning walkers, that go down onto the trail, so they're coming or going through that dark corner up there," said Johnson.
Near the light that has been out for five years, there are about three more streetlights that are also out. There are also several other lights out on the street.
"It's just not safe, I mean that's when I first saw your story, that's the whole reason I wanted to reach out to you, and because it's taken so long," said Johnson.
Johnson added that his neighborhood also has a homeowners' association, which has made calls, also with no success.
"At this point, I'm not the only one in the neighborhood that's called, and I think everybody is kind of done, they don't know what else to do," said Johnson.
Over a month ago, News 5 anchor Tessa DiTirro walked the streets of Akron with Lombardo. At that time, Lombardo showed streetlights out across neighborhoods in his ward and on busy Akron roads.
"Hopefully, third time is the charm. We're going to get it all lit up for the residents of Akron," said Lombardo.
On Memorial Parkway, some poles had multiple ribbon markers alerting FirstEnergy crews that the light was out. Johnson said even along his quiet street, some poles have been marked three times or more.
News 5 reached out to First Energy, which sent this statement: "While we’ve actively responded and made repairs to multiple streetlights in the Riverwoods Drive area over the past few years, we have become aware of underground wiring work that will be required to complete work on the remaining lights. We have met with the city, and our crews are currently waiting for them to bore the hole in the ground and add a section of conduit needed to accommodate the installation of electrical wires. We will continue to coordinate with the appropriate stakeholders to address these outages and minimize future disruptions."
At Ohio Edison, the safety and well-being of our customers are our top priorities. We understand that streetlights are essential to our communities to support safety and security.
To help ensure timely repairs, Ohio Edison relies on customers to contact the company when they see that a light is out on their street corner or along a road. Of the approximately 24,000 streetlights Ohio Edison maintains in the City of Akron, crews repaired 3,920 in 2024. About 94% of those repairs were completed within five days of receiving the streetlight outage report.
Ohio Edison attempts to make most routine streetlight repairs, such as bulb or photocell replacements, as soon as possible. Sometimes, however, repairs take longer depending on the severity of damage and amount of work that needs to be done. Unique lighting fixtures, such as those in this area, can also take more time to replace, depending on the speed of getting parts from the manufacturer.
When calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or filling out the online form to report a light out, customers will need:
- Their name and phone number (in case we need more information).
- Address where the streetlight is located (nearest house or business address and the nearest cross street).
- Number on the utility pole.
- What is wrong with the streetlight (damaged pole; broken light fixture; light is off at night, on during the day, or flickers)
You canfile a report here. You can also report lights out by calling 3-1-1 in Akron or submitting the outage on the 311 app.
"What's the point of having them if they're not going to maintain them? And I get it if it takes a couple of months, but it shouldn't take five years," said Johnson.
