THE PROBLEM -- Three street light poles are missing at Belair Road and Erdman Avenue.
THE BACKSTORY -- Patrick Glenn noticed several months ago that the lights were not shining as brightly at a Northeast Baltimore intersection as they used to.
Car accidents had felled two street light poles on Belair Road just north of Erdman Avenue in Belair-Edison. A cone also marked the location of a missing pole on the northwest corner, near a CVS and a bus stop.
Glenn, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said he called the city's 311 service as well as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.
"They said it belongs to the city," Glenn said. "The city said it belongs to them. ... My last nerve was about gone."
But these aren't the only missing lights. During travels around the city, Watchdog has noted several safety cones alerting pedestrians to wiring exposed by a missing pole.
Normally poles would be replaced within three weeks, said city transportation spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes.
However, there are about 200 locations now awaiting replacements until an order of parts arrives. There's a constant demand, particularly at intersections such as this one where, for some reason, there are frequently accidents involving poles, she said.
"We do know we're in need," Barnes said. "They're knocked down so often we can't keep up with the pace."
It's not the 11 1/2 -foot poles or transformer bases that are in short supply, but rather the 6-foot arms that hold the light fixtures. Those are expected to arrive this month.
A variety of poles are installed around the city, including 30-foot model with cobra head fixtures and vintage-style neighborhood poles. Depending on the style, it can cost from $500 to more than $1,000 to replace a pole.
The city contracts with BGE to maintain about 75 percent of the city's approximately 90,000 street lights, including the three missing ones at Belair and Erdman. Barnes said she couldn't find any reports about this intersection in the system.
However, the intersection still meets the city's minimum standard of illumination, she said. "Even with the poles being down, there's still good lighting," Barnes said.
WHO CAN FIX THIS -- Richard Hooper, division chief of maintenance, city Department of Transportation, 410-396-1686. City residents can also call 311 to report problems.
update
Max Wolfthal of Owings Mills reported a manhole cover on Reisterstown Road that has been leaking periodically for three years. He said a repair crew came to Village Queen Drive on Friday to repair it, but the water still flows. Kurt L. Kocher, a spokesman for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, said that the crew did some preliminary work and that another crew will return tomorrow. The problem did not stem from a malfunctioning valve on a pipe as previously thought, but rather from the valve on a meter that needs to be repacked, he said.