Yes, Robbie's right about the path corridor being far too shady for solar, even in winter with few leaves.
However, the path meets the vast open, sunny wasteland of the Beltline, with it's newly installed miles-long string of ATC transmission towers. This towers corridor will be kept free of tall vegetation. Think how much less ugly those towers could be with an umbrella of solar arrays on them! I may be mistaken, but it always seemed like the City just rolled over and played dead when this ATC project was being designed and alternatives discussed. Getting some Clean Energy benefit from them is the sort of thing that the City should have worked hard to get PSC to require ATC to do - and still should do, as compensation for the added ugliness and clutter to the urban environment. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Schimpff, Jeff A - DNR Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 11:28 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Campus Drive solar or UBay lights as a model for SW Path Lighting Bollards would be useful if we lived in a society where everyone respected useful infrastructure. However, reflecting on the vandalism that has been inflicted upon the green flex-plastic 1/10 mile markers along the SW Path (maybe some is due to plowing?), I feel that bollards would have to be so heavily armored that their useful light contribution would be reduced, or electricity use increased. Also, in the event that their placement creates interference with a cyclist's ability to see the path surface, any glare cannot be screened out with a helmet visor (which visor very well blocks the overhead glare from the test lights). The arrays of lights along the University Bay bike path and the Campus Drive bike path seem to have much less glare, and are lower to the ground. I do not experience any light-to-dark adjustment problems going from light post to light post. They provide useful light and the University Bay series in particular casts a yellowy light, which is much less of a contributor to light pollution caused by upward reflection from the path pavement. They seem to be spaced closer together, but if they are cheaper per pole, then possibly the existing budgeted amount could cover the extra number of poles that would be required. The Campus Drive light string is solar powered with battery storage, so they were relatively expensive to install, according to MGE staff involved with arranging for their installation. That was more than five years ago, so it's possible that the overall drop in price for solar energy components has made these lights more affordable, too. Their beauty lies in their lack of reliance on coal or gas-fired electricity (except in their manufacture, like all the rest), which keeps our air just a hair less dirty as we bike along. University or MGE staff should be able to provide information on their experience with maintenance and any problems to be aware of that the casual observer would not likely notice. From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]]<mailto:[mailto:[email protected]]> On Behalf Of Robert F. Nagel Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 10:09 AM To: Ross, Arthur Cc: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Bikies] Second thoughts on SW Path Lighting I know I've thrown this out there before as have others, but I don't recall if you weighed-in or not. What about bollards? --- [https://mail.google.com/mail/c/photos/private/AIbEiAIAAAAhCLb07c3c8K-rDxDlm5Wf5ojdzXEY2Nu6rNaKy9KXATABSD0Us7KFk8TqCxcjefJTk980XpA?sz=32] Robert F. Nagel, Attorney Law Offices of Robert Nagel [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> www.nagel-law.com<http://www.nagel-law.com> Thirty on the Square, 10th Floor 30 W. Mifflin St., Suite 1001 Madison, WI 53703 608-255-1501 office 608-255-1504 fax 608-438-9501 cell On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 9:58 AM, Ross, Arthur <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: It's difficult to get a feel for what the path will look and feel like from a single, or two, lights. To get a better idea of what the lighting will be like ride or walk the Cannonball path whee the same fixture has been installed. The easiest access to the Cannonball Path is at Post Road between Todd Drive and Leopold Elementary School. Please provide constructive critique. Using a term like "awful" does not tell us anything. What do like or dislike about the lighting? What would you prefer? Remember the path is not just for bicyclists who are required to use lights at night to be seen by others, but also by pedestrians, runners, and other non-motorized users. Arthur Ross, Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator City of Madison, Traffic Engineering Division 215 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Suite 100 PO Box 2986 Madison, WI 53701-2986 ________________________________________ From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of David Long [[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 9:28 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [Bikies] Second thoughts on SW Path Lighting This issue is not simply bike advocates VS NIMBY homeowners, nor is it Lights VS No-Lights folks. The folks who have actually seen the proposed lighting at Council Bluff will likely understand my meaning. Whatever you feel about whether bike paths should be lit by riders or by an external source, I think most bikers who experiences the test light adjacent Council Bluff will agree that it is awful. As a long time BFW member and commuter on the SW Path since '03, I really hope bike advocacy groups don't rally members to blindly support this poorly conceived lighting plan. Until a vastly better design is proposed, I much prefer to keep on using my LED bike light for my evening commute. The handful of neighborhood bikers I've talked to agree. If you haven't already, please take some time to check out the test lights and pass along your suggestions to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> before the Dec 11 hearing Dave Long ...and no, I'm not an adjacent homeowner _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
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