City commission to review East Campus lighting issues
The Columbia City Council asked a city commission to take a closer look at lighting in a well-known neighborhood.
Columbia Water & Light asked the city to first consider hiring a consultant to study outdoor lighting in the East Campus neighborhood. The department had received several requests from student residents there for more lighting the entire area. ABC 17 News has reported on their concerns, particularly with lighting’s relation to public safety there.
Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala motioned instead Monday night to have the city’s Environment and Energy Commission review the lighting there. Along with saving money for the city, Skala told ABC 17 News, the volunteer commission was a “natural fit” to take the issue since it helped write the outdoor lighting rules the city currently has in place. The council passed the motion 5-0.
“I think we need to refer to some folks to give us a little bit of background to suggest what’s really necessary and what might be in everybody’s best interest,” Skala told ABC 17 News after the meeting.
Columbia Water and Light Assistant Director Ryan Williams described the neighborhood as “divided at best” in regards to lighting there. While many student residents have expressed concerns with it, property owners have remained opposed to more lighting. The consultant would help find consensus between the two sides, Williams said, asking the council to let the department offer a request for proposal.
Skala said an area needs “effective” lighting, rather than just more lighting, to serve as a proper benefit to public safety.
“That effective lighting has to be the right color for witness identification, because if you have too much, like under the gasoline station canopies, that’s not effective lighting,” Skala said. “That just ‘bleaches’ out everything, and you really can’t see in or out.”
