Commuters who rely on a park-and-ride lot in Bowie, Maryland, say the lot's lights have been out for weeks and they don't feel safe there after dark.
Dozens of people leave their cars at the lot on Northview Drive every day to take public transit to D.C. and elsewhere.
At 5:45 p.m. Monday, a News4 crew went to the lot and found parking spaces and a Metrobus stop in pitch black darkness. News4's crew could only see in the lot with the help of the photographer's camera light.
“I hate being out here by myself though — alone, too. Like, no one's protection or anything," one woman at the lot said.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
Some people go to the lot for EV charging.
“Yeah, when I came around the round-a-bout I was a bit freaked out, but that's why I turned my car lights on," a woman who was charging her SUV said.
News4 viewer Clarence Dixon told us the lights went out all at once about three or four weeks ago.
Transportation
Reporter Adam Tuss and the News4 team are covering you down on the roads and in transit.
Dixon said he and other commuters who use the lot have been banding together to help keep each other safe.
"I will escort them to their cars with my flashlight to ensure that they are in their vehicles," Dixon told News4 by phone.
The parking lot does have security cameras. However, it's not clear how effective they are without light.
One commuter said he’s concerned about criminals emboldened by the darkness.
“There was a car, the windows were broken,” he said.
News4 is working to track down the agency or business responsible for maintaining the parking lot's lights.
