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Published: Jul. 6, 2022 at 6:08 AM EDT
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - To help deter crime in some areas with recent shootings, like City Market, the city is hoping to, quite literally, light up the night.
Flood lights were added for busy nights downtown. They are special lights that are on timers and as the night moves on they get brighter and brighter. By 3 a.m., it is about equal to daylight.
Mayor Van Johnson says they’ll remain in place to cast a brighter light on the square until more permanent lighting upgrades are put in place.
He also added the city is partnering with Georgia Power to do what he’s calling a lighting audit across Savannah to prioritize lighting needs based on crime data, crashes and existing lighting coverage.
“One of the hindrances to public safety is the lack of light and so this creates an opportunity for us to light it up, you can see a lot better, people can see a lot better and I think it adds to public safety,” Mayor Johnson said.
Despite the additional flood lights being rolled out over the weekend, there still was a shooting involving teenagers near the square.
That marks two weekends in a row with shootings in this area. These additional lights will be up for a while but the mayor says they are still trying to determine exactly how much they will be on and when.
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