Additional light to be added on Hoyt Street

Is another street light needed for Hoyt Lane? The city council said "Yes" at its Aug. 24 meeting.

Jan Cobbe, who runs the Christmas Shoppe in the back of Crestline Pharmacy that is reopening next month, had expressed to the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce her concern that the limited lighting on the street is a safety issue. The proposed light would be placed on a pole on Hoyt where it intersects with the alley adjacent to Oak Street Garden Shop.

Police Chief Ted Cook studied the area at dusk earlier this month and determined an additional streetlight would improve lighting but not to a great extent. The sidewalk on the side under consideration does not run all the way to Oak Street, and the sidewalk on the other side of the street is already well lit, he said. Thus, he recommended pedestrians walk on the side that is lit.

Cook also found that most of the alley is well lit except for the three or four spaces closest to Hoyt, but he thinks this could be resolved by fixing nonfunctional decorative lights that are already there. However, there has been an issue with the landlord fixing them.

Sam Gaston said the city talked with the three adjoining property owners and that they are OK with the light addition.

The council decided to approve the new light, which will cost $651.