Let there be lights: U. unveils pilot program

New lighting on the 4100 block of Pine Street will demonstrate ways to boost safety in W. Philadelphia. The University launched its lighting improvement pilot plan last night, showing off the newly lit 4100 block of Pine Street to community residents, Mayor Ed Rendell and West Philadelphia Councilperson Jannie Blackwell. The block sports new residential lighting -- placed on short poles or on houses in front of every building -- designed to illuminate sidewalks rather than streets. Philadelphia Electric Company paid for the lighting improvements on Pine. PECO, the city and the University used the block to demonstrate possible neighborhood lighting upgrades for the entire West Philadelphia area. Officials have asked residents to replace lights near their homes with these residential lights, according to Larry Bell, executive director of the West Philadelphia Partnership, which is organizing the lighting program. The residents will be reimbursed for 50 percent of the new lighting costs through funds donated by the University and local landlords. Of the $25,000 that will fund the project, the University contributed $5,000, and Campus Apartments, University City Housing, University Enterprises and Allen Klein Properties each donated an additional $5,000. Bell estimated each new light will cost an average of $75 and can be installed in as little as one hour. If blocks work together to select a lighting contractor, the costs could be reduced to as little as $25 to $50, according to University President Judith Rodin. And electricity for a single light will cost approximately $12 a year, said Carol Scheman, vice president for government and community affairs. Rendell said the low costs should make better lighting available to all homeowners. If the program is successful, he hopes to expand it in the city. First-year Dental student Jason Shapiro, who lives on the 4100 block of Pine Street, called the new lighting installation a good step, adding that it was "about time." "[Before] you didn't feel safe walking around this block," College senior Andrew Boone said. "I do feel safer now -- safer -- not completely safe." Shapiro agreed that the area will not be uniformly safer until the lighting program is successfully implemented on neighboring blocks. Scheman said the next step in the lighting program will be to organize neighborhood block captains and town watches. These groups will survey University City to assess where lighting needs to be fixed first. "The issue isn't house by house, street by street and block by block, because it is the gaps that are problematic," Scheman said. Residents can receive lighting information by calling 38-BRIGHT. Meanwhile, the 40th Street Task Force continued its 45-day plan to clean up the area this week by painting the 40th Street Mall building and beginning the process of repaving the street. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Tal Golomb, a College junior who sits on the group, said they are developing a vendor plan for the area and looking at potential tenants for the street's store space. The group plans to continue working on the area through the semester.

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