Some Palm Springs residents want street lights back on in Historic Tennis Neighborhood

Concerned about crime and public safety, some people who live and work in one Palm Springs neighborhood say they want the street lights turned on at night once again.

The street lights in the Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood of Palm Springs have not been running for years, but Jan Wing wants to change that.

“I own a vacation condo here, and I’m concerned about the people i rent to. I’m concerned about their safety walking on the street at night with no lights, and no continuous sidewalks,” said Wing.

Owning a condo on Arenas, and a home on Patencio, Wing believes turning the lights on will reduce the crime rate, and make nights safer for tourists on foot, who also stay at hotels on or near arenas, and who are often unfamiliar with the streets.

Marina Rossi, owner of The San Giuliano Hotel is one of at least two hotel owners who also want the lights back on in the neighborhood, mapped in city documents as “Street Lighting District 1”.

“If the city has funds to finance a private shopping center development they have funds to turn the lights on to keep everybody safe,” said Rossi.

The street lights in the tennis club neighborhood date back to the early 1960s. They were paid for by people who lived there through assessments on their tax bills.

Collectively, they paid a maximum of $10,000 a year.

But it wasn’t long before the cost of running and maintaining the lights exceeded what residents were paying, and for several years, the city paid the difference.

In 2008, the city council dissolved the lighting district after residents in the area repeatedly voted against paying higher assessments to cover the city’s cost of running the lights.

That is when the lights were turned off for good.

Palm Springs Assistant City Manager Marcus Fuller says running these lights in the neighborhood once again is not simply a matter of flipping a switch.

Fuller says much of the componentry needed for running the lights has been removed since 2008, and says some parts are no longer available.

“If we were to work out how to pay for the installation of a new lighting system and maintain it over time, the city would entertain having a new system installed,” said Fuller.

For those who want lights once again in the neighborhood, the Assistant City Manager says they have a couple of options.

They could organize a new lighting district to pay for new lights themselves.

“I know that the perception is real that the brighter the street is the safer you feel,” said Fuller.

Or, the money could come from a one million dollar share of Measure J funds, which will be set aside for community improvement projects.

In about two months, they can apply for the money to the “Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee”.

We’re told installing new lights comparable to the old would cost at least half a million dollars.

“Its a matter of people being able to walk safely in the streets, and for cars to be able to see the people walking in the streets, because there are no sidewalks in part of it,” said Wing.

For many years the city of Palm Springs has maintained a so-called “dark sky” policy to enhance nighttime views.

That is why the small number of street lights the city does operate are found only along major roadways and at busy intersections.