In “news” that won’t be news to many local residents, street lighting for large portions of Lake of the Isles has gone dark, and the (lack of) coverage appears to be steadily expanding. Copper thieves are to blame, and the lights won’t be going back on any time soon according to city officials.
Copper theft has reached epidemic levels throughout the Twin Cities, with parkways being particularly hard hit.
That epidemic hit Lake of the Isles in November, when thieves ripped out wire for a large swath of lights along the northern and northeast sections of the lake’s north arm, along with lights on Logan Ave. S., along the southeast boundary of Kenwood Park.
Since then, the lights have gone out on the southern end of the lake and along much of the western side of the north arm as well, creating safety concerns for local residents and hazards for late-night and early-morning joggers.
How long will it take to repair?
The City of Minneapolis says repair times will be measured in months rather than weeks. Backlogs and seasonality are to blame, according to the city.
The rampant thefts have left the city with more than ten miles of wire to replace, and the city says it is difficult to pull replacement wire consistently through underground conduits while the ground is still frozen.
State and local officials hoped that the new law requiring scrap copper dealers to be licensed would address the problem when it became effective on January 1, but thus far, the copper thieves don’t appear to have gotten the memo.
In the meantime, Fifth Precinct Inspector Christie Nelson has arranged for an MPD light trailer to be parked at the tip of the lake’s north arm, at least on a temporary basis, weather permitting and when not needed elsewhere.
On the good news front, when the wire is eventually replaced, the city plans to use aluminum wire, which has a much lower resale value than copper.
