Philly’s new LED streetlights are bright, but they can be dimmed

It’s the middle of the night, you cozy up under the blankets and turn off the lights, but the room still isn’t dark.

That’s what Delaware County resident Debora Winter saw when her son sent her a picture of his Point Breeze bedroom. The culprit? An LED street light.

“They had put these new lights out … his room was completely illuminated from the outside,” Winter said. “He was able to contact 311, and they turned it down, but it seems that you have to do that every time.”

Aware of the city’s transition into LED lights, the 70-year-old asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region: Why are the street lights programmed to be so bright?

It’s a matter of safety, according to Christopher Young, the Department of Streets communications manager.

In August 2023, the city launched a project to upgrade 130,000 street lights to LED by the end of 2025, including on all roadways, alleyways, and residential and commercial corridors.

These new lights are brighter than the high-pressure sodium lights they are replacing while using 50% less energy, according to the project website.

The new lights are meant to improve nighttime visibility, making it easier to spot illegal activity and boost safety for people walking, biking, or driving, Young said. But, this luminance increase is not equal everywhere.

Gun violence, in particular, is behind the difference in the intensity of the LEDs. Last year, The Inquirer reported that LEDs would be brighter in areas experiencing increased gun violence.

Nighttime crime data, nighttime vehicle crash data, and other data from several organizations was used to determine the neighborhoods that would get the lights first.

A University of Pennsylvania study found outdoor gun crimes at night dropped 21% with new lights, Young said.

The lights are on track to be fully upgraded by late fall, he added.

Bill McGeeney, from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council, told The Inquirer last year that brighter lights may not reduce gun violence but can make people feel safe.

For Winter, the explanation “makes total sense.”

“I definitely don’t feel comfortable walking down a dark street,” she said. “People might be deterred from doing something when there is obviously a chance for someone to see what they are doing.”

This doesn’t mean folks have to get used to sleeping in brightness. The new system is connected to a lighting management system, making it easier for the city to manage streetlights remotely.

Like Winter’s son, Reddit users report calling 311 and having their street light dimmed within a few days. Young recommends directly emailing ledstreetlighting@phila.gov.