PLEASE HELP!!! Question: Identify the author's purpose in the newspaper article below. Then, in your own words, explain which detail is most helpful in supporting the author's purpose and which is least helpful.

btw what it means by puposes is either to inform or to persuade or
to entertain
I think its to persuade but I dont know what detail is the most helpful and what detail is not the most helpful.

Passage:
You may have noticed that 12 new stoplights were added to the streets of Darlingham in the last year. Though there have been many complaints about slower commutes to work, that is a small price to pay for the dramatic improvement in community safety that has occurred. In fact, as a result of the new stoplights, automobile accidents at those intersections have been reduced by nearly 40 percent. Furthermore, studies show that the new lights have made the intersections safer for pedestrians. And for me, personally, the stoplights hold a special significance — they were manufactured at Wilson Smelting, the company my grandfather started almost 80 years ago. In closing, I think we as a community should thank the city planners for making the safety of Darlingham's citizens a top priority.