Manatee’s Nighttime Lighting Initiative Progresses

By Lisa Neff

Manatee County is working to brighten up some nights — with an ambitious lighting campaign.

The Light Up Manatee initiative has resulted in the installation of 1,152 streetlights, with many more still to be installed, according to Chris DeCosta, a senior assessment coordinator with the county who, along with traffic operations division manager Aaron Burkett, updated the board of county commissioners on the work.

“The biggest part of the whole project is getting lights to the public, lighting it up,” DeCosta said of the campaign. “And we’ve received a lot of positive feedback.”

The goal of the initiative is to standardize streetlighting and decrease the potential for crime and accidents. Crime data and crash data were used to identify areas “that really need attention,” DeCosta said.

The initiative dates back more than two years, when commissioners approved a motion directing staff to prepare a roadway streetlighting policy.

Then in August 2023, the commission gave the go-ahead for county staff to work with utility providers on an implementation plan.

Several months later, the commission allocated $3 million for the county to collaborate with Florida Power & Light, as well as Streetleaf, a solar lighting company, to put streetlights in underlit areas, especially in Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The county allocated $500,000 for design work and $2,500,000 for construction and by mid-April 2025 had spent $1.6 million.

There are a total of 3,628 streetlights proposed and more than 1,152 of them have been installed, with an effort to make use of existing infrastructure to reduce costs.

Many of the streetlights are for local roads in neighborhoods but, according to Burkett, the plan for thoroughfares includes 22 project locations along 35 miles of road. Five locations, with 267 streetlights, are completed and five more are in the queue, he said.

“We let the crime and crash data steer us,” Burkett said.

Before and after examples of streetlighting in a Manatee County community. Courtesy Image

A map shows locations of local roads and thoroughfares in Manatee County for proposed streetlights, as well as streetlighting that’s in design, under construction or completed through the Light Up Manatee initiative. Courtesy Image

About Light Up Manatee Light Up Manatee is a project that aims to provide adequate streetlighting to underlit neighborhoods throughout Manatee County. “With safety, crime reduction and community building in mind, the county board of county commissioners aims to light up a significant portion of county-owned streets,” according to a description of the campaign. For more, go to https://light-up-manatee-manateegis.hub.arcgis.com/#overview