The Allegheny Township supervisors will investigate the costs for installing street lights in the Pleasantville neighborhood.

That’s in response to an inquiry by Michael Blakeny, a resident of Sunrise Drive.

Blakeny said he is concerned about the safety of pedestrians, particularly children, walking the neighborhood after dark.

He said it gets so dark that it can be hard to see other pedestrians who may be a few yards away. He asked how residents could get street lights and whether that is something the township would do and pay for.

Township Manager Greg Primm said that, generally speaking, there aren’t many street lights in the township.

The only street light that the township pays for is at the intersection of Route 56 and Route 356 near Stanford Home Center, Primm said.

That’s because when PennDOT reconfigured that intersection years ago, it stipulated that the township had to install and maintain lighting, he said.

Primm said financing options are few for street light installation and maintenance for residents requesting it.

“It’s either the neighbors contact West Penn Power and pay for it themselves, or the supervisors could do an assessment in Pleasantville,” he said.

If the township were to take on the cost for one neighborhood, he noted, it would have to do the same for other neighborhoods that want street lights.

He said levying assessments for street lights even in one neighborhood can be problematic because some residents may not want lighting or the cost of an assessment.

“I think it’s a good point,” Supervisor Jamie Morabito said of Blakeny’s concern about darkened streets. “We have that in my neighborhood in Melwood (Manor) where I almost hit people while driving home.”

The supervisors all agreed to explore the situation further.

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