"As luzes significam que estamos perto da cidade."

Translation: The lights mean that we are near the city.

[marymary33]

Near and near to should both be acceptable

[Alexander3584]

"near" or "close to", but I've never heard "near to"

[maurice584190]

I think "indicate" is a better translation than "mean"

[Jeremy_Nathan]

why wouldn't be "à cidade"?

[scottnufer]

You actually made me question myself and I had to search some grammar rules before I answered to make sure my gut reaction was right. "Perto" requires the helper "de," so the only time I even found "a" instead of "de" following "perto," it was because it followed the phrasing "de perto," which basically means "closely."

[Danmoller]

This fits another expression: "próximos à cidade".