The LSU campus-wide lighting project is moving into its third phase, with the second phase more than halfway done, according to Greg Lacour, director of campus planning at LSU.

The push for better lighting began with site security issues, receiving feedback from parents and students reporting poorly lit areas across campus, according to Dennis Mitchell, assistant director and landscape architect for LSU campus planning.

To begin, LSU conducted a survey with light meters taking readings of all the pathways across campus to document areas in need.

LSU Campus Planning was granted $4 million from the Louisiana Legislature to carry out this entire project.

Phase one of the master plan, which began in October 2022, focused on the parking area across from Patrick F. Taylor Hall and the Agricultural and Coliseum parking areas. This phase was completed in early February 2023.

Phase two began in February 2023 and is still under way, with completion planned for November 2023. The area’s focus is on the Law School, the Campus Lakes, Highland Road, the Quad, the pedestrian corridors around Coates Hall, the Renewable Natural Resources Building and Sturgis Hall.

Phase three prioritizes the pedestrian corridors around the Pentagon Residential Community, the LSU Campus Mounds, the areas along North Stadium Road and the parking lots along South Stadium Road and Skip Bertman Drive. Construction began in May 2023 and is planned to finish by May 2024, according to Lacour.

“The areas that we still need to keep track of are those that aren’t high priority but still have the wrong color fixtures and aren’t efficient,” Mitchell said. 

The Enchanted Forest lighting project would be the next phase after the first three are completed. The “Enchanted Forest” is adjacent to the Pentagon, behind the Greek Theater. This fourth phase is projected to take place from June 2023 through December 2023.