Lighting on East Campus: Why it hasn’t been updated

ABC 17 News did some digging about a month ago and found the number of rapes in Columbia is at an all time high.

We also found a large number of these rapes are happening in neighborhoods that college students live in, particularly East Campus.

A big concern for students living there is the lighting, or lack there of.

“I have a lot of sisters on East Campus and a lot of sisters have witnessed or have friends that have been attacked and been victims,” said Sarah Sprick, an MU student, East Campus resident and sorority member.

Sarah is aware of the number of rapes and wants to take action to stop it. Sprick thinks the answer to this problem would be more lighting installed on East Campus.

“It’s completely pitch black. You go from being under one light to complete darkness and it’s really scary,” said Sprick.

She’s walking around the community asking neighbors if they would be interested in signing a petition asking the city of Columbia to install more street lights in the neighborhood. Sarah says many female students are on board with her idea.

Simply asking the city to update lighting may not be enough. ABC 17 News spoke to representatives from Columbia Water and Light who say any proposed changes have to be presented to a street light advisory committee. The committee makes a recommendation and City Council will make the final decision as to whether or not the lights are installed.

But, there’s another catch. The community has to agree.

“When someone from an existing neighborhood wants a street light added, they need to check in with their neighbors, get some buy in. Make sure their neighbors are okay with street lights being added,” said utility service specialist Connie Kacprowicz.

East Campus is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Columbia. It was developed in the early 1900s. Some residents don’t want more street lights to preserve the neighborhood, but others like Sprick, want more lights for safety.

Kacprowicz said, “Street lighting, believe it or not, is controversial.”

Bill Cantin, from the Columbia Neighborhood Communications department said, “You’re never going to make everyone happy. We just can’t, it’s not going to happen.”

A City of Columbia engineer tells ABC 17 News the street lights were installed sometime around the 1930s and 1940s in East Campus and not much has changed since.

“East campus was built in a time where there wasn’t necessarily any kind of lighting standard,” said Kacprowicz. She also said, “Unless there’s a problem with them, we really don’t want to go to the money.”

Installing a new light on a wood pole would cost the city about $2,000. An LED light on a steel pole would be closer to $3,000.00.

ABC 17 also asked the city about the lighting on Anthony Street, the street on East Campus where the most rapes have occurred. The city said it did get a complaint earlier in the year about the lighting. The city says it went out to test and found the lighting to be “adequate.”

ABC 17 asked, “What defines adequate lighting?”

“It’s hard to articulate how the city goes about it,” said Cantin. He also said it goes, “Case by case. It really is like that.”

“Water and Light’s stance is that it’s really a community decision. So instead of having hard rules, we’d like to work with the community,” said Kacprowicz.

Water and Light has about $170,000 in the budget each year to replace and add new lighting.

The city is also starting a test run with LED lights that are more expensive to install, but may save money on energy costs in the long run.

Columbia Neighborhood Communications says it is considering doing a walk through with East Campus residents to let them voice concerns.