Anne Arundel County owns and leases approximately 36,000 street lights along County-maintained roads.The annual energy and maintenance costs for these streetlights exceed $6 million a year. The lights are designed to improve visibility for motorists and pedestrians. They are not intended to provide security lighting for private property. Street lights are required to be installed by developers in new subdivisions. These lights are installed when the County determines that work has progressed to a point where new lights are unlikely to be damaged by construction equipment. Due to fiscal constraints, new street lights are typically not added to existing roadways unless there is a documented traffic safety problem which would be improved by the installation of a new light. The installation and maintenance of street lights is done by Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) based on work orders from the County. BGE and the County are currently working to replace mercury vapor lights with sodium vapor fixtures. The sodium vapor fixtures are brighter than mercury vapor lights and do not pose an environmental problem at the end of their useful life. We are also working to replace old direct-burial steel poles. These programs will require several years to complete. 
To report problems with existing street lights, please call BGE directly at 1-800-685-0123 or use BGE's online reporting form. If you would like to request a new street light or an upgrade to an existing street light, please contact the Traffic Engineering Division at 410-222-7331 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. | 
