CLEVELAND – Dark, poorly lit parking lots will soon be a thing of the past in Cleveland.
This week, the Cleveland City Council took steps to hold landlords responsible for dangerously dark parking lots.
In September, News 5 first told you about a grassroots safety initiative that started at the Broadway Place Apartments.
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Residents had to deal with the problem, telling News 5 that the dark parking lot led to a host of safety and crime issues.
“It was like a dark force,” said Wealthy Gibson, president of a local community association. “It was pitch black here. You couldn’t see anything until you got there.”
Two months later we came back to see if anything had changed. Gibson told us that management had switched the lights off to LED.
“They hung it up for 24 hours, and then it was back to where it was originally. And I think that’s pretty sad,” Gibson said.
News 5 reached out to Broadway Place management and the complex’s manager told us they will have a crew out next week to troubleshoot the lighting issues again.
Because Gibson and others spoke with their councilwoman Rebecca Maurer, the city council voted in favor of an emergency ordinance requiring landlords to adhere to stricter lighting requirements in parking lots with ten or more spaces.
“This is where I live, and I love where I live. It should apply to everyone, not just me as a resident, but to all the residents that are here,” he said.
Failure to meet brighter light requirements carries a high price: 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
“It all started with a small act and honestly on the eve of an election… small acts matter when you call, an act of kindness is a vote, those small acts matter,” Maurer said.
The law comes into effect as soon as the mayor signs it. It is not retroactive and only affects new projects, but if an old project changes its parking lights, it would have to adhere to the new law.
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