Tonight, the Fort Wayne City Council will discuss a $254,062 contract for new street lighting along Oliver Street from East Pontiac Street to Rudisill Boulevard.
News release from the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana:
Streetlights first phase of Safe Neighborhoods Initiative
Fort Wayne, Indiana (August 4, 2026) – As part of Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker’s Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, Fort Wayne City Council this evening will discuss a $254,062 contract for new street lighting along Oliver Street from East Pontiac Street to Rudisill Boulevard. The proposed 67 streetlights are the first phase of the effort, first introduced by the Mayor in her February State of the City address.
The Safe Neighborhoods Initiative builds on the success seen in the City’s recent High Street CPTED pilot project, which made the following improvements to the area in the Bloomingdale, Hamilton and Nebraska neighborhoods just north of downtown: new curbs, sidewalks, streetlights, crosswalks, motion sensor lights, murals and street trees. The changes accounted for an approximately 40 percent decrease in crime.
Current CPTED areas in Fort Wayne, Indiana The Community Development Division, in partnership with the Public Works Division and the Fort Wayne Police Department, is now beginning work in the Oxford Neighborhood, east of Hanna Street and south of Pontiac Street. The work includes conducting CPTED assessments, installing new streetlights, and constructing new sidewalks that will connect Weisser Park to Bowser Avenue.
Thanks to a grant from the Knight Foundation, artwork will also be installed in the neighborhood, and a block party will take place in October. The block party and artwork will be planned with residents and are designed to promote neighborhood pride and connection.
“We must have safe, strong, engaged, and growing neighborhoods as the backbone of Fort Wayne. Without a commitment to investing in neighborhoods, we won’t be able to get to where we want to be as a community,” said Mayor Tucker. “That’s why it’s so vital to pour in resources to the Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. It’s an effort that will have a lasting impact and bring positive energy and hope to neighborhoods and our residents.”
CPTED stands for crime prevention through environmental design and involves increasing community connections and designing spaces, such as parks, neighborhoods, or buildings, so they naturally discourage crime and make people feel safer.
The Department of Neighborhoods has established a strong working relationship with the University of Pennsylvania Criminology Department and Dr. John MacDonald to inform and guide research and metrics on both the High Street and Safe Neighborhoods project areas.
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