As the holiday season approaches, some members of the University community string icicle lights from the rooftops of their homes. But Jim Mayne, associate director of utility operations, isn’t focused on Christmas lights this time of year. He’s more concerned with improving campus lighting.
Mayne is responsible for compiling the findings of a campus lighting walk done with Student Government earlier this month. Mayne said the results of the survey show a 4.4 percent failure rate of campus lights, meaning 175 lights have problems out of 3,950 on campus.
“Personally, I think that’s good,” Mayne said. “Out of [about] 4,000 lights, it would be a rare occasion to not have some of them burned out.”
Mayne said the two areas of campus most in need of lighting improvements are the Emerging Technologies Center’s parking lot and the bus stop at South Stadium and Tower drives near H.D. Wilson Laboratories. He said his office is in the process of better lighting these areas.
Mayne said it is difficult to determine what is an acceptable failure rate because the location of the lights needing repairs is more important than the number. He said some areas with a few lights burned out can still be adequately lit.
Mayne said fixing the 175 lights identified with problems comes with a $30,000 price tag. He said replacing lights and ballasts – the voltage regulating device on lights – are the most common repairs needed.
Lance Logan, SG director of campus development, said 25 people from different University departments participated in this semester’s lighting walk Nov. 8.
Logan said the group split into pairs and were assigned certain areas of campus to inspect. He said the groups were given a map where they indicated if an area needs more lighting, a light repair or if vegetation needs to be trimmed away from a light.
“We drove just about every square inch of campus,” Logan said. “This is for the students. If they want more lights around, they can make it known.”
Josh King, SG vice president, said they are particularly concerned with areas where students will be late at night. He said making sure new dining areas that will remain open until 2 a.m. – such as the new Taco Bell – have quality lighting is a priority.
“Our goal is both to increase lighting and to start shifting to more energy efficient lighting wherever possible,” King said.
King said the campus lighting walk serves as a short-term solution to lighting problems on campus. He said the walk allows them to quickly identify problematic areas and take appropriate action to remedy the situation.
“Anything that deals with students and student safety we feel is a responsibility of Student Government,” King said.
King said SG is working to communicate with off-campus officials, such as Mayor-President Kip Holden and the Northgate Merchants Association, to discuss lighting in the areas surrounding campus and options to improve the lighting.
“It’s not just a problem directly on campus,” King said. “Making sure those areas are lit is a top priority in our book.”
Mayne said Residential Life is responsible for conducting additional light inspections on a monthly basis. He said his office does inspections nearly once a month in isolated areas of campus.
Mayne said the University uses primarily two different types of lights. He said high-pressure sodium lights, which give off an orange-tinted light, are used in large areas, including the front of buildings and parking lots, because they are energy efficient and economical.
Mayne said metal halide lights, which produce a white-colored light, are used in walking paths across campus.
He said the University adheres to a code of standards issued by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Determining how far apart lights should be placed depends on the type of bulb used and how much light is produced, he said.
“You try to have [the light from] each pole intersect so that there is no dead spot between the two poles,” Mayne said.
Mayne said if students feel uncomfortable in an area because it is not well lit, they should move to an area in which they are comfortable and report any problems to facility services.
“We always have the ability for improvement,” Mayne said. “It’s not the fact that we have a dark campus. Personally, I just think that the lighting we have on campus needs to be better adjusted.”
Mayne said using a better quality of lights more strategically placed could be beneficial to the campus. He said because lighting has been added as the campus expands, lights are sometimes not in the most efficient places.
Logan said SG will continue to monitor campus lighting to ensure the safety of students on campus.
“If students want to come out and do another lighting walk, then Student Government is going to be happy to host another one,” Logan said.
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]