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Purple-hued streetlights remain indefinitely

By Brian Hagen

10/27/2021

Credit: Facebook/City of Atchison

(KAIR)--There’s no timeline yet for when the defective, purple-glowing streetlights will be replaced in Atchison.

That word is delivered in a social media post made by the City of Atchison, elaborating on a late September post that touched on the topic.

In the release, the City explains that in Atchison, “like many other cities throughout Kansas, street lighting systems are actually owned and operated by the electric utility, Evergy. The City does pay an annual lease to Evergy in exchange for their owning and operating the street light system.”

The problem, leaving many streetlights in the City glowing a ghostly purple, comes down to a defect in the LED lights, which is “a nationwide occurrence,” due to a prematurely failing component in the lights, making them glow the blue-purple color that’s caught the attention of Atchison residents in recent weeks.

While the manufacturer of the LED bulbs has taken responsibility, and Evergy is working to correct the problem, widespread throughout its service territory, the City notes that it’s “unsure of the timeline for replacing the malfunctioning fixtures in the Atchison community.”

Despite the unusual color being caused by the defect, not all local residents are opposed to the lights.

Along with criticism of the lighting, a number of comments on the City’s social media post voice support for the unusual coloring, with one commenter saying it’s time to “break out the old black light posters.”

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