News

Jul 15, 2023

Purple streetlights? Phoenix has about 1,000. Here's what to know

Phoenix has just under 1,000 purple streetlights across the city right now, but

Phoenix has just under 1,000 purple streetlights across the city right now, but it's not an effort to support the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs.

A replacement program has the number down from about 1,200 a few weeks ago, a city spokesperson said.

A manufacturing defect caused the lights' phosphor coating to delaminate, resulting in the purple color, said Gregg Bach, with Phoenix's streets department.

Phoenix first noticed the problem about a year ago and has replaced 350 of the lights, which are spread out across the city from north to south and in between.

The flaw has affected street lights in cities across the country.

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The purple lights don't pose a safety risk and are not affecting any traffic signals, Bach said. They're typically seen in groupings — so four or five purple lights might be on one street.

While 1,200 lights were identified and nearly 900 still need to be replaced, Bach said it's possible there are more purple lights the city has not been made aware of. The city plans to continue replacements for the next several months.

The lights are under warranty, so replacement is done at no cost to the city or its taxpayers, Bach told The Republic.

The known lights with defects represent a small portion of all city streetlights: about 90,000 in total.

If you notice a streetlight with an issue, call 602-495-5125 or fill out a street light repair request form at phoenix.gov.

Reporter Taylor Seely covers Phoenix City Hall for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at [email protected], by phone at 480-476-6116, or on Twitter @taylorseely95.