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New LED street lights installed in Atlantic Beach

Streets in Atlantic Beach are now brighter at night as JEA works to install new LED light fixtures throughout the county.

JEA says the new fixtures use less energy and require less maintenance – saving customers money.

Some neighbors in Atlantic Beach said they feel the new lights make the neighborhood safer, while others say they’re just too bright.

“It removes the coziness of the neighborhood,” Jane Wytzka said.

One of the new LED lights is right outside her Atlantic Beach home.

“The lights are really bright. You could read a book. You could read a newspaper. It’s that bright,” she said.

A JEA spokesperson said the agency made changes to two of the lights in Atlantic Beach after concerns ahead of sea turtle nesting season.

Amber covers were placed over lights at Seventh Street and Beach and Twelfth Street and Beach, the spokesperson said.

JEA said approximately 70 percent of street lights in Jacksonville have been converted to LEDs and 40 percent in Atlantic Beach now have the new fixtures.

The agency says if anyone has concerns about the new lights, they should call JEA or their city government.