Still Seeing Purple Street Lights In The Quad Cities? Here's Why

Back in July, we started to see a large number of purple street lights. It's nothing new to see different colored lights in the QC. In Davenport, we see a large number of old orange lights with new LED lights, like the one in this picture,

If you ever drive in the QC when the sun goes down you have most likely seen some purple lights as well. According to WSPA however, these purple lights are actually a malfunction.

What Is The Malfunction?

These defects are being seen in multiple areas across the US, and WSPA went on to say,

Duke Energy has been upgrading many of their older and less efficient lights with LED lighting over the past few years. Several hundreds of these white, street lights across the Upstate are now malfunctioning causing the lights to gradually turn deep purple.

This malfunction is most likely what we are seeing right here in the Quad Cities. Many different utility companies are using these exact same types of LED lights and are seeing the same issue. Experts believe this is the result of one bad batch of lights being distributed across the country.

This Is Still Happening?

A short answer to this question is yes. The lights all don't go bad at the same time, so it takes a second to find and fix the malfunctioning lights here in the Quad Cities.

We all have most likely seen a spot in the QC with these purple lights. I have seen a solid amount in Davenport Iowa.

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Is This A Problem?

Again in short, yes, but it is a pretty minor problem overall. While it can cause some visual issues while driving for some, overall the light just gives off a very dark purple tint.

Personally, I don't hate the color. I honestly think they are kinda cool. It almost feels like a video game when you drive by them, but again some are VERY purple.

These Lights Are Not Here On Purpose

On a more serious note, the color purple was also used in the month of April in memory of Breasia Terrell, a 10-year-old Davenport girl, who went missing July 10, 2020. Friends, family, and community members were asked to hang purple lights in their homes but the purple street lights do not appear to be linked to that memorial. More information about that here.

Others thought these lights were up because they are different, and cool looking, but that also does not appear to be the case.

Hotel Davenport Demolition

The Hotel Davenport is located at 5202 Brady St. and was reportedly built in the early 1970s. Earlier this year it was decided that this hotel was no longer set to have guests.

According to the Quad Cities times, the Davenport hotel has faced a number of fires, along with safety and health code violations. This has led to the call for its demolition. I've driven past it many times and have seen that the building had clearly began to deteriorate.

It was scheduled for demolition earlier this year, and said demolition began in April. Many involved in this project are excited to see what the future holds for this lot in Davenport.

I drive past this spot every day for work, and over the last month have snagged some pictures of the demolition.