Skid row to get 100 new lights

The skid row area of downtown Los Angeles is scheduled to receive 100 new pedestrian lights as part of an effort to make the neighborhood safer, officials said Monday.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other elected officials will appear in skid row today to discuss the $320,000 program, which is designed to reduce the number of sidewalk drug sales.

The lights are part of the Safer City Initiative, which targets South Los Angeles, Hollywood, MacArthur Park, North Hills and skid row.

Last year, the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting increased the wattage of 249 street lights on skid row.

-- David Zahniser