BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo aims to fix more than 500 downed streetlight poles across the city, with National Grid taking a larger role in the replacement process under a new plan Mayor Sean Ryan announced Thursday.
The city has 40,000 streetlights. Until now, Buffalo maintained the poles while National Grid handled the wiring, electrical systems, and light bulbs — a division of responsibility that made repairs complicated and slow.
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Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp said the split system created delays when poles were damaged.
"So what that means is when a pole gets knocked down, it's up to us to put the pole back up so they can finish fixing the electrical work and the bulb if need be," Swanekamp said.
Under the new arrangement, National Grid will handle the entire replacement process.
The first poles to be replaced were along Memorial Drive, which now has 14 new light poles.
The roughly 525 streetlights that need replacement can be spotted across the city by the plastic cones and boxes covering them.
They are another sign of Buffalo's aging infrastructure.
Earlier this month, colleague Holly Kirkpatrick reported on a traffic light pole that came crashing down on Bidwell Parkway.
"I'm going to go and check them out and ask the city why are they still broken. It just went down," Kirkpatrick said.
On Wednesday night, neighbors on Columbus Parkway reached out after seeing crackling electrical wires behind their homes. The video they shared sounded like fireworks. A National Grid spokesman said a downed power line caused the incident.
National Grid's Bertola urged residents to report similar situations.
"Always give us a call when you see something like that or if you're having issues where your power is going out repeatedly; make sure we're aware of it," Bertola said.
Bertola also put the problem in a broader context.
"Buffalo and Western New York has some of the oldest infrastructure in America," Bertola said.
Swanekamp said the stretch near the 198 Expressway is next on the list.
"The 198 we're looking at is for our next one. There's a lot down over there," Swanekamp said.
Streetlight replacements will continue through the fall and resume in the spring.
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