NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville mayor John Cooper's office announced a plan this week to overhaul the city's streetlights to smart LEDs — a move the city says will save $20 million in energy costs over 10 years, while making driving and walking around the city safer.
NewsChannel 5 analyzed hundreds of hubNashville reports made just within the last month, made by neighbors reporting streetlight outages.
One hot spot of reports came from the neighborhood near Dudley Park — an area that's experienced a lot of change in recent years.
"We've got Airbnbs and all this over here," said neighbor Maurice Smith. "Y'all can come and move in and make these Airbnbs and all that, but we still claim this is our neighborhood."
Smith says he's skeptical of the new proposed change from the mayor's office to overhaul the streetlights across Nashville, even though his neighborhood had some of the highest levels of reports from neighbors of malfunctioning streetlights.
"It's not a surprise to me that we're the last ones on the totem pole," Smith said.
Smith says it reveals a stark disparity that shines bright just a few minutes away.
"Downtown has got to be lit up. We don't want people coming to Nashville getting robbed because they're ain't no streetlights," Smith said. "But come over here, you get robbed, and sorry, there ain't no street lights. You know what I mean?"
The Mayor's office says new LED smart lights it wants to install across Nashville will help identify streetlight outages in real-time, making things safer for drivers and people walking. But Smith says he'll believe it when he sees it.
"Well, I'll just speak my opinion," Smith said. "Saying what you want to do, and doing what you say you're going to do are two different things."
"Do it, and we'll see."
