PALMETTO, Fla. — Manatee County is installing street lights in underlit areas as part of a project that was passed by commissioners in August.

Installations are taking place throughout Districts 2, 3, and 4. Workers recently completed the first neighborhood in Palmetto.

Manatee County Commissioner Mike Rahn, who is spearheading the Light Up Manatee project, says it’s all an effort to give residents light and to reduce the crime rate in low-income neighborhoods.

A total of $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act will be used to install 9,000 solar-operated LED street lights.

“It came to my attention through my research that 90 percent of Manatee County is without lighting,” Rahn said. “I believe when you light up neighborhoods, they become safer, stronger, and it chases all the bad elements out of the way.”

Essick and Janiell Johnson, who have been living in Palmetto since 1972, recently noticed the new lights illuminating their street.

“He said it’s the streetlight; we got a streetlight now,” Janiell Johnson said. “It was so bright, like I was in heaven. It was gorgeous.”

The two say they can’t remember a time their street has been lit in the past 50 years.

“We feel much safer with my daughter coming home at night, especially if I’m not here; she can see a larger area that’s brightened up,” Essick Johnson said. “It gets dark out here, especially when the sun goes down early.”

Feeling that sense of safety is the goal of these new lights as officials aim to bring a brighter future for neighborhoods.

According to Rahn, the county also is partnering with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to install Raven Sound Detection Systems throughout these neighborhoods.

The audio device works to detect and locate gunshots before 911 is called.