INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett made good on a campaign promise Wednesday, officially lifting a three-decade moratorium on new streetlights in the city.
Watch Mayor Hogsett's full State of the City address in the video player above.
The city of Indianapolis hasn't installed a new streetlight since 1981 – when a moratorium was put in place by former Mayor Bill Hudnut.
Community advocates have asked for years for the moratorium to be lifted, linking insufficient lighting to crime and other unwanted behaviors, along with an increased number of car-versus-pedestrian crashes.
MORE | Study highlights notoriously dangerous areas for pedestrians | IMPD: Pedestrian crashes, injuries up this year | Neighborhood advocate: Lack of light leads to crime
Some citizens had become so desperate for lighting in their neighborhoods that they took it upon themselves to pay the $130 up-front and $6 a month to get Indianapolis Power & Light to install a new light.
MORE | Neighbors step up to pay for streetlights
During his State of the City address Wednesday, Hogsett said he'd signed an executive order lifting the moratorium.
"For more than three decades Indianapolis has labored under a moratorium on new streetlights," Hogsett said. "Earlier today I signed Executive Order #3, which, without equivocation and with the full force of law, ends the moratorium."
The moratorium was put into place as a cost-saving measure. The Indianapolis Department of Public works maintains 29,000 streetlights at an annual cost of $5.1 million.
In addition to lifting the moratorium, Hogsett said the city would begin installation of 100 new lights in the next 30 days.
