They maintain an asset register of street furniture (bollards, traffic signals, parking signs, parking meters) and within this application assign identifiers. ... Because, "replace the bulb in lamp 35621" is a lot more specific than "replace the bulb in the lamp outside 25 Main Street".

Why do street lights have numbers?

Numbering quite simply makes operation and maintenance a whole lot easier. However, sometimes there can be complacency, whereby street lighting staff rely too heavily on inventories and fault reporting, rather than using a bit of common sense. It's exactly how street lights can end up taking years to fix.

What are the secret codes on Central Park lamp posts used for?

All told there are 1,600 cast-iron streetlamps scattered around Central Park and each one is embellished with a numerical code that's completely meaningless to the uninitiated. However, to those in the know, these four-digit numbers – located near the base of each lamppost – can be used as a handy navigation points.