PALMER SQUARE — That was quick.
The city has repaired the light poles that had rusted out around Palmer Square and the other poles that had exposed wires hanging from their bases.
Neighbors of the popular park told DNAinfo they had been calling 311 reporting issues with the light poles for more than a year.
RELATED: Exposed Wires, Rusted Poles Have Palmer Square Parents Worried
Thursday morning, crews from the Chicago Department of Transportation were at the park replacing some light poles and fixing the electrical box coverings on others.
A spokesman said the department had no open reports of problems with the poles before a reporter contacted the department this week.
Less than 24 hours after a story was published about the issue, at least one base of a light pole that had rusted away had been completely replaced and the door coverings on multiple other boxes had been repaired.
The spokesman said the repairs were not a result of the story.
"I was totally surprised at the reaction," said Steve Hier, the president of the Homeowners Association of Palmer Square, who said he had been bugging the city to fix the problem for the past year.
Hier, a professional building inspector by trade, said he was concerned that there is no process in place to regularly inspect the poles, rather the city relies on 311 calls to repair them.
According to service repair requests for street light pole damage provided by the city, there have been more than 150 poles reported down from the start of the year through May 26.
"I would like to see the city be a little more proactive rather than reactive on safety stuff like this," Hier said. "I don’t know how they plan to do that.”
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