At last week's meeting, City staff explained that there 2 typical
reasons for street lighting:
* crime
* saftey (avoiding crashes)
The motivation for the SW Path lighting is the second one, There is
(currently) no signifcant crime in that area. I'm pretty sure that
Robbie isn't suggesting that lighting "stops mugging".
As Robbie mentioned, opponents of the project made every conceivable
excuse to justify their position, no matter how implausible or inane.
Until last Thursday, I had mixed feelings about this issue. Although I
favor lighting, I tried to listen with an open mind. The comments at
the meeting were, let us say, not compelling. But for me, the deciding
factor was the obnoxious behavior of the opponents, from beginning to
end.
Alder Brian Solomon started off the meeting with a heartfelt plea for
tolerance and understanding. WHen he mentioned that he would be
moderating the discussion, he was immediatately intertupted by several
people who yelled out that he was biased. I could go on, but the less
said, the better.
Personally, I think a straight-up NIMBY argument would be more honest.
Clearly, they don't want public lights in their backyard, which is a
reasonable argument.
City staff have put a lot of work addressing this. You can see a
demonstration light on Gregory Street. If this project goes through,
it could really set a standard for effective lighting while minimizing
light pollution.
If the project does not go through, I worry about the precedent. Over
twelve years since the SouthWest *Commuter* path was approved, we are
still debating whether this is considered a transporation corridor.
The failure will be likely be understood as the failure of the city to
respect the convenience and safety of bicycling.
-darin burleigh
Quoting Eric White <[email protected]>:
<snark>Glad to know lights stop mugging. If only this technology
could be deployed throughout this and other cities.</snark> I ride
the path daily, and in the winter, nightly. I'm against lights, but I
could live with them if they get installed. I'm pretty sure I can be
both anti-light and anti-mugging.
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