Yesterday evening, a number of street lights in the Lake Merritt BART parking lot used an eerie looking purple glow. This was captured in the image below at 8 PM and showed an unusual tone compared to what most Oakland residents were used to. Despite the unusual display, it turns out that there is actually a fairly easy explanation which is far more mundane than you may think.
In short, this sight may be somewhat uncommon but does happen across US streets. In short, it is a phenomenon when LED streetlights fade over time. Here, their phosphor coating peels and decays over time. Because of this, it isn’t an exclusive sight to Oakland and may disappear when the city council fixes it.
On a separate note, it also makes for a fairly cool, chilled out look which is a welcome change from generic light pole colors. For those wondering, this has occurred for the last few nights and will continue to do so until it is rectified. As a result, it is probable that Oaklanders may be able to catch the bizarre sight over the next few days at the Lake Merritt BART car park after 8 PM. However, it is also probable that they will be fixed over the next few weeks.