News

Jul 14, 2023

What’s With Those Purple Streetlights in Fort Worth

People have seen purple streetlights randomly around Fort Worth for several

People have seen purple streetlights randomly around Fort Worth for several months now.

"I think they're very pretty," neighbor Marvita Moser said.

"I don't like them because they are a distraction while driving," neighbor Sara Richmond said.

Like them or not, there is a reason for the purple lights. And it wasn't to show support for TCU's football team ahead of their national title game.

"The phosphate coating that is on the LEDs, over time, it disintegrates. And as it disintegrates, it turns the purple lights, the LEDs, to purple," Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works Superintendent Brandon Callicoat said.

The city says this is a manufacturer's defect from a batch of LED lights installed in 2017.

"It's a strange defect," Moser said.

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The city of Fort Worth has identified 1,100 defective LED lights so far and expects more to come.

"As time progresses, we started to notice even more than when we first did the assessment," Callicoat said. "Just in the last couple of weeks with the weather being what it was, I've noticed ones not showing any signs are starting to show signs."

The manufacturer is Acuity Brands.

"We are not the only lighting manufacturer that has experienced this issue, said Cathy Lewandowski with Acuity Brands. "This light output is in no way harmful or unsafe."

"As always, we stand behind the quality of our products, and we have been proactively working with customers who have been affected by this issue to address and satisfactorily resolve any concerns," she added.

"Great. Can't come soon enough," Richmond said.

Because it's a manufacturer's defect, the city is not paying for the replacements.

"It's just an inconvenience and sort of an eyesore sometimes," Callicoat said. "There's a lot of people that like them. We've had citizens reach out to us and say they want to do a petition to keep them."

Although some may be passionate about the purple, they all will be getting repaired. An estimate from the city this past week said it could take three to four months.

You can report a malfunctioning street light through the My Fort Worth App or by calling 817-392-1234.

Below is the manufacturer's full statement.

"The referenced "blue light" effect is due to a spectral shift caused by phosphor displacement seen years after initial installation. The blue light effect occurred in a small percentage of our total population of AEL® branded fixtures, and we are not the only lighting manufacturer that has experienced this issue. This light output is in no way harmful or unsafe and we no longer use the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that caused this spectral shift.Acuity Brands utilizes state-of-the-art LED components from top tier manufacturers and has the strategic supply chain and engineering processes in place to ensure that our products continue to provide industry leading performance. As always, we stand behind the quality of our products, and we have been proactively working with customers who have been affected by this issue to address and satisfactorily resolve any concerns."