In the fall of 2021, Vancouverites started to notice that the once orange and white street lights were turning purple. It wasn't an homage to Prince or some sort of new low-fi vibe the city was trying out but a mass malfunction and one that continues to this day.
"The purple street lights are a result of a failure with the coating on the LEDs," confirms a spokesperson for the City. "These failures are not unique to the City of Vancouver. The same phenomenon has been reported in major cities across Canada and North America."
Indeed, the busted bulbs have been a problem as far back as 2020 with reports coming out of California, Florida, New Mexico, and even as far as Ireland. According to a Business Insider report, "most of the wonky streetlights, it turns out, came from an Acuity sub-brand called American Electric Lighting."
Though the City hasn't named the manufacturer, the spokesperson tells V.I.A. that the company has completed "a root cause analysis" of the malfunction and has taken steps to change its manufacturing process to ensure it will not happen again.
The lights are reportedly under warranty and are being replaced at no cost to the City, however, the problem ones need to first be identified.
Not all of the bulbs have been deteriorating at the same rate and the city doesn't appear to be able to identify which ones will turn purple until it happens. However, they assure that "there is no health risk associated with the unintended colour."
Besides, they look cool.
If someone sees a defective streetlight the city asks that they submit a service request to 311.
Some lights in Vancouver are purple or blue on purpose
Certain public washrooms in Vancouver businesses have purple- or blue-tinted lights to dissuade drug use.
The reasoning behind the blue or purple-hued lighting is that it's harder to see superficial veins in these colours of light, explains The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) in a 2019 document.
However, its effectiveness is not absolute and the BCCDC actually advises against installing blue lights because they make it unsafe for people using the washroom for other uses. The weird lighting can make it difficult for people to see what they're doing or spot any hazardous waste. The light can obscure their own and any issues such as blood, bleeding, or changes in bodily fluids.
With files from Brendan Kergin
