The University of Houston is accelerating a campuswide lighting initiative and calling for increased community vigilance following a recent rise in bicycle and scooter thefts. These safety enhancements include a comprehensive technical upgrade to outdoor illumination and the launch of a real-time interactive map to track project progress.
New Campus Lighting Interactive Map
To improve nighttime visibility, UH has implemented industry-leading technical standards for more than 2,500 light poles across the campus. The new fixtures utilize a 4000K “cool white” color temperature designed to mimic natural light, which improves depth perception and reduces glare. Additionally, the lighting features an 85+ Color Rendering Index (CRI), ensuring colors appear accurately to assist in the clear identification of individuals, clothing, and vehicles.
“Our accelerated lighting upgrades are a testament to our proactive approach to safety and security. We are applying advanced technical standards to ensure our campus is as bright, safe and welcoming at night as it is during the day.”
—Raymond Bartlett, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at UH
The University’s dedicated maintenance team oversees the network of poles, performing routine inspections to ensure outages are repaired quickly. To maintain transparency, the UH community can now track active installation sites, scheduled areas, and completed projects through a newly launched interactive map on the campus lighting project webpage.
Bike and Scooter Protection
While infrastructure improvements continue, the UH Police Department is urging students, faculty, and staff to take immediate steps to protect personal property. A recent comparative crime trend analysis from January to March 2026 revealed a significant year-over-year increase in thefts.
- Total bike and scooter theft incidents rose to 39 during this period.
- Scooter thefts increased by 56.67%, totaling 30 incidents.
- Bicycle thefts also increased, totaling 9 incidents.
- 77% of the stolen bicycles used a cable lock instead of the recommended U-lock.
- More than half of the stolen scooters used a cable lock instead of the recommended U-lock. The other scooters were unsecured.
- Only three of the 39 stolen items were registered with the University.
To combat these crimes of opportunity, UHPD recommends the use of U-locks and the formal registration of all scooters and bicycles through your myParking account. When a bike or scooter is unregistered, it limits entry of these stolen items to be entered into law enforcement databases, reducing the potential for recovery.
UH, UHD, METRO Safety Awareness Campaign
Beyond the campus borders, UHPD Chief Ceaser Moore recently joined the University of Houston-Downtown Police Chief Clemente Rodriguez and the METRO Police Chief Ban Tien to launch a joint public safety awareness campaign. This collaborative effort promotes shared responsibility to improve safety and security for students, faculty and staff commuting along METRO transit lines and navigating both university campuses.
Chief Moore urges the community to stay alert report anything suspicious.
“Trusting your instincts is important — if you see something, say something. It could prevent a crime entirely,” Moore said.