Boston’s Street Lighting Division has completed 7,202 streetlight upgrades so far in 2026, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office announced on Monday, October 26. That is nearly three times the 2,483 upgrades finished in all of 2025 and, according to the City of Boston, the highest annual total recorded since 2016. The city says its own crews did the work at roughly one-third of what outside contractors would have charged.
Wu marked the milestone with residents, city officials and Public Works staff. The announcement is the latest in a run of neighborhood-infrastructure items from City Hall this fall, alongside budget and streets debates The Boston Report has covered, including where Boston’s FY2027 budget money goes.
Boston streetlight upgrades by the numbers
The figures below come from the city’s October 26 announcement:
- 7,202 upgrades completed in 2026 to date, versus 2,483 in all of 2025.
- Highest yearly total since 2016.
- About 68,000 electric streetlights and 2,800 gas lights make up the city’s network.
- The replacement cycle has been shortened from 15 years to 10 years.
- More than 8,000 Boston 311 service requests about street lighting are handled each year.
- Upgrades have reached every Boston neighborhood, the city says.
The city did not publish a dollar figure for the 2026 work or a per-fixture cost in the release, so the “one-third the cost” comparison cannot be independently checked from the announcement alone. The Boston Report will add budget figures if the Public Works Department releases them.
What the upgrades change on Boston streets
According to the city, the work is part of a broader move to smart LED fixtures. Those lights can be adjusted individually for brightness and timing, and the city says they also reduce light pollution. Upgrades have focused on major transportation corridors, business districts and residential streets.
“Quality of life in our neighborhoods depends on the quality of lighting on our streets,” Wu said in the city’s announcement. “Street by street, Boston is upgrading more light fixtures throughout every neighborhood on a faster replacement schedule and with lower costs.” She tied the work to the city’s State of Good Repair Program.
Mike Donaghy, superintendent of the Street Lighting Division, credited his crews with reaching the milestone. Beyond replacements, the division runs 24-hour emergency response to knocked-down poles and each winter strings and lights more than 50 holiday trees around the city.
Street lighting and public safety
The city framed the program as a safety measure as well as a maintenance one. Its release says targeted lighting in key corridors improves visibility, which can help prevent nighttime crashes and violence. Isaac Yablo, director of the Boston Public Health Commission’s Office of Violence Prevention and the mayor’s senior advisor for community safety, said investments in “our built environment, specifically street lighting, are good for our neighborhoods, keep our residents safe and help prevent violence.”
The release does not cite a specific study or crash and crime data for Boston’s upgraded corridors. Pedestrian safety has been an active topic at City Hall this month: the City Council recognized October as Pedestrian Safety Month and, on October 23, adopted a resolution honoring Ride for Your Life and people lost to traffic violence, according to the city’s news feed. Related street-design debates include the Blue Hill Avenue bus lanes hearing.
A pipeline from Madison Park to city jobs
The Street Lighting Division also works with Madison Park Technical Vocational High School’s electrical program in Roxbury. According to the city, nine Madison Park electrical graduates have become full-time Street Lighting Division employees so far. Livingston Williams of Madison Park said seeing those graduates hired is “a testament to the value of this partnership.”
For a city of about 673,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimate, and a land area of roughly 48 square miles, the network of about 70,800 electric and gas lamps works out to well over 1,400 fixtures per square mile on average. Lighting conditions still vary block by block. Residents can report outages to the city through Boston 311.
What to watch next
- Whether the city publishes year-end 2026 totals and cost data for in-house work compared with contractors.
- How the 10-year replacement schedule is funded in the next capital plan.
- Whether the city adds more Madison Park graduates to the Street Lighting Division.
Sources
- City of Boston: Mayor Michelle Wu Announces Record Year for Street Lighting Upgrades Citywide (October 26, 2026): upgrade totals, network size, the replacement cycle, quotes and the Madison Park partnership.
- U.S. Census Bureau: QuickFacts, Boston city, Massachusetts: population estimate and land area.
- City of Boston: Latest City of Boston news: City Council’s Pedestrian Safety Month and Ride for Your Life resolutions.
Additional sources
- City of Boston: Mayor’s Office: the mayor’s cabinet, including the interim Chief of Streets.
- Wikimedia Commons: Acorn Street Boston, Massachusetts: photo license and credit.
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