Rocky Mount studying street lights citywide after downtown business owners raise concerns

Rocky Mount is launching a new internal study of lighting across the city following months of complaints from residents.

Some downtown business areas say they believe poorly lit areas are deterring customers from spending their time and money in central Rocky Mount.

In some parts of the Rocky Mount city center, streetlights are everywhere.

But, residents say, away from the main thoroughfares there’s a pressing need for more illumination.

“It just looks like everything is vacant, you know, it’s nothing here, or it’s nothing happening,” Moe & D’s Grill and Bar owner Moe Deloach said. “You know, if you’re not from here you would not know the spots to go.”

At his downtown restaurant and bar, Deloach has been trying to build a nightlife scene in Rocky Mount.

But he believes he’s lost customers because some of the streets nearby don’t look safe at night.

“It’s more of just because it’s dark,” Deloach said. “It’s actually no crime happening out here, it’s just what people think.”

After bringing the topic up to the Rocky Mount City Council again on Monday night, Deloach got the response he was looking for.

“I’d like to make a motion that the entire city lighting be evaluated,” Rocky Mount Ward 1 city council member Andre Knight told the council.

The city council decided to move forward with a study of the streetlights in every neighborhood in Rocky Mount, a move business owners hoped would make safety concerns downtown a thing of the past.

“So the main thing is: How we can get that out of people’s heads and people’s minds, and just try to get them to stick downtown,” Deloach said.

Rocky Mount City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney said the study would be conducted by staff in every ward of the city, identifying which street in each area would be in need of the most lighting adjustment.