LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Bluish purple streetlights are now something you can find all over the Las Vegas Valley from Henderson to North Las Vegas. Why are streetlights glowing this unusual color? FOX5′s is getting answers.
Though the intersection of Ann Road and Clayton in North Las Vegas glows purple, it doesn’t seem to bother drivers nor pedestrians.
“I notice it every time, every time I walk this corner,” explained DeAngelo Hill who lives nearby has grown to like the cooler hue.
“I’ve seen like headlights with the same type of lights on them. It doesn’t have like a negative effect that I see so I don’t really see the problem with it,” Hill added.
“Customers used to always come in here and ask me did you see the lights? You notice that they are not the right color?,” Darrin Robinson who works at a gas station next to the glowing purple intersection shared. Robinson revealed it’s been this way for about four months.
“I thought that that was something new that they were going to start doing…I mean it’s pretty,” Robinson stated.
The purple hue also illuminates the intersection of Allen Lane at Ann Road and Craig at the Interstate 15 exit in North Las Vegas. FOX5 has learned you will find lights glowing purple across the nation and around the world from Kansas to Florida, Canada to Ireland.
This issue: a manufacturing defect causing the coating to come off revealing purple light instead of white. In Phoenix, 1,200 lights are in the process of being replaced.
“They need to get it together if it is not supposed to be that way. What if someone has an accident there?,” Robinson questioned.
The City of Henderson acknowledged it is indeed a manufacture’s defect turning lights on Boulder Highway blue near Skyline Casino. A Henderson spokesperson told FOX5:
“The blue lights…are defective light fixtures that were installed prior to the city of Henderson owning the roadway. The phosphor layer around the led lights has been delaminated, exposing the blue led lights. The physical lights will be removed and replaced as part of the upcoming reimagine boulder highway project, slated to begin this year. In the interim, the city plans to replace the defective led lights. The blue light is in no way a hazard to drivers.”
The City of North Las Vegas also got back to FOX5 about their purplish lights. They say though the lights have “zero impact on visibility for drivers and pedestrians,” the city is in the process of replacing them.
Scientific American reported the worldwide problem in September, some areas seeing the problem as early as 2021. In the report, it’s contended the hue of the light illuminating a roadway could affect how drivers and pedestrians perceive their surroundings and that makes purple streetlights a potential safety hazard.
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