Streetlight Woes

[kapara19.livejournal.com]

Those of you that walk to Davis Square via Simpson Ave know that the streetlight at the corner of Broadway and Simpson has been out since JANUARY. Normally I wouldn't really care about a streetlight but this one is the only thing illuminating the very busy crosswalk on Broadway. So since JANUARY, I and others have had to dodge cars who simply cannot see us. I have lost count of the number of near misses I have witnessed.

I first called NSTAR in February. Since then, I have called about 8 times. Early on, I was told they were "waiting on a part". A few weeks ago, I was told they were waiting on the city to issue a permit because the repair requires they dig in the street. I followed that up with an email to 311 to see what the delay was and was told the city did not have any record of a permit request. Now NSTAR is simply telling me they "are working on it". They are not able to say when the light may be fixed. In fact, they say only the technician knows that and there is no way for them to get in touch with said technician to get more info. They do tell me they have received numerous calls about this particular light, including from the Somerville Fire Dept.

Today, I emailed Bob Trane (my Alderman) to see if he could help. If anyone has other ideas, please let me know. Or if you would like to add your voice to this and call NSTAR, the number is 800-592-2000. You can get to a live person by saying 'Customer Service Representative' both times the robovoice asks how it can help you. The actual address of the light is 986 Broadway.