Just as an organized group of neighbors finally convinced SDOT, Seattle Parks, Seattle City Light and WSDOT to figure out how to get the lights working after two years of darkness along the I-90 Trail in Sam Smith Park, another biking and walking path goes dark. WSDOT sent out an alert that wire thieves have struck the Montlake area, and lights for the biking and walking path were among those that lost their power connections.
The good news is that WSDOT says it is already working on fixing the issue, so we shouldn’t need to wait two years again (though let’s keep an eye out to make sure they come back on).
In both cases, the cause of the lighting outage was wire theft, which has been a problem for a long time. The area around the Spokane Street Bridge, for example, seems to get hit often. So there’s not exactly any news here except to say that if you notice the lights are out at night, definitely report it. Don’t assume the agency in charge already knows about it or simply forgot to turn them on. In Seattle you can use the Find It Fix It app. In other jurisdictions, look for how to submit a maintenance or service request.
If you’re a thief, come on! Don’t steal the wires for path lighting. That sucks. If you’re a metal recycler who buys scrap wire you know is stolen, stop doing that! There, I’m sure my admonishment has put this problem to bed.