Waterfront Blackout: Darkness On The Edge Of Town

 Apparently some people who use the fishing pier and other areas of the Martinez waterfront prefer to do so in darkness. The lights throughout the facility are routinely shot out and otherwise broken, despite repeated efforts to keep the park lit.

At a Feb. 1 joint meeting between the City Council and the Park, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission, Phil Ciaramintaro submitted a list of more than 30 lights at the waterfront that are presently out of commission. That includes no lights on the fishing pier, only one on the pathway to the pier, and a number of lights in the various parking lots.

“Someone could get killed, mauled or raped out there,” Ciaramintaro said. “If you drag your heels on this, a lawsuit will be filed.”

Public Works Director Dave Scola confirmed that the lights were indeed not working, pointing out that it is an ongoing problem.

“There are people who use the pier who don’t want light. They’re broken out as soon as they’re put in. They’re shot out, broken out.”

He said new light fixtures have arrived and will be installed in the next couple of weeks, along with new florescent bulbs.

“Hopefully, the ones we put in will be harder to break,” Scola said. But he cautioned that, even though he has someone checking the marina each day for broken lights, vandals intent on darkness are ultimately difficult to catch.