I think that a lower, much dimmer, downcast LED version of the solar-powered lights along the Campus Drive path would be great. There are too many unlit/unreflectored peds and other cyclists on that very busy path at night. Lighting there would be very useful.
The vegetation is so dense in many places and the homes are far enough away, that I feel it would be easy to come up with an unobtrusive lighting system, possibly one with motion sensor activation that would turn on a bank of lights between road crossings, to save energy during the late, late hours when few of us are prowling about. Jeff Schimpff Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Madison, WI 608-267-7853 "Bus, Bike, Carpool to Work for Clean Air for Kids" -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Larry D. Nelson Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:21 PM To: 'India Rose Viola'; [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Southwest Path- is it too dark at night? During the design of the SW Path, the decision was made not to light the path (although I recall that we included empty duct beneath the path to accommodate the wiring.) I rather doubt that the adjoining properties would support the installation and investing better lighting - perhaps with camera? - would be the best course of action. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of India Rose Viola Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Bikies] Southwest Path- is it too dark at night? Because of a night class that I am taking out at UW Research Park, I have recently been riding on the Southwest Path between Monroe and Glenway between 6-10pm and find it startlingly dark. Dark enough that my standard-issue headlight does not give me enough time to anticipate obstacles or people in the path. It also makes me feel particularly isolated and vulnerable on my bike (I am generally a confident night cyclist). I know that the path is very close to many neighbors' back yards, so any added lighting would need to be sensitive to that. As an urban bike commuter I really enjoy having the option of riding on a city path at night when I need (or want) to get from point A to point B. Is this something that other people are also concerned about, or should I just invest in brighter bike lights? I am comparing the lightedness of the Southwest Path to area streets and also to the John Nolan Path and the segment of the Capital City Trail that runs behind Atwood Ave along the railroad tracks which are on my daily/nightly route. I feel much safer on these east-side paths because of the amount of light provided at night. -India *********************** India Viola UW-Madison Stretton Lab 115 Zoology Research Bldg. 1117 W. Johnson St. Madison, WI 53706 608.262.3336 *********************** "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge them?" -Anonymous "We exist in the bacterial world, not bacteria in ours" -Stuart Levy _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
