Houghton Re-lights the Conversation on Street Lighting West of M-26

Houghton’s City Council has relights the conversation about potential streetlights in neighborhoods west of M-26. Last night at the city council meeting members decided to collect more data from residents living in West Houghton about street lighting. With the intent of comparing if views have changed since Houghton last sparked the lighting discussion.

“When we discuss this, let’s say late last summer when it was decided to put it off because nothing was going to happen over the winter anyway to put it off till spring, well here we are in February and it comes down to two questions, only one depending on what the answer to the first question is. And the question is does the council feel it’s in the public’s best interest to install some street lighting up in the West Houghton neighborhoods?” – Eric Waara, City Manager, City of Houghton

If the answer is yes, the next question becomes where. The survey given to West Houghton residents in the summer resulted in about two to one respondents in favor of installing street lights. Councilor Mike Needham noted that a significant amount did not respond. Adding that he hopes since then more neighbors have had opportunities to talk with one another about lighting.

“And I will say my reason for doing this is severalfold. I think that time may or may not have changed some opinions. There were 62 people who didn’t reply. Maybe we’ll get a higher percentage. One-third of the people didn’t reply. That’s kind of high for a small neighborhood, single-issue kind of question.” – Mike Needham, Councilor, City of Houghton

Houghton will send out a second survey to West neighborhood residents. Later in the spring, after comparing the survey results from 2023 and 2024, the city may look at further input opportunities for residents. The goal, if any such lights were installed in West Houghton neighborhoods, would be to use dark sky-compliant lighting, and link to a UPPCO power source. A decision will still need to be finalized by the city council before City Manager Eric Waara can begin looking into costs, installation sites, or related infrastructure.