The lights are getting brighter in Evanston.
City engineers started the first phase of a major relighting project last week, with installation beginning around Northwestern. The project stems from concerns by residents and students about recent muggings near campus.
More than 80 lights, at a cost of about $200 each, have been installed from Sherman Avenue to Sheridan Road, between Lincoln and Emerson streets.
“The comments we’ve been getting are that it is much brighter,” said Tom Twigg, senior traffic engineer for the city.
Evanston plans to spend three to five years relighting its streets with 4,500 new units — at a total cost of $3 million to $5 million. The first phase of the project will be completed in about a year, relighting a third of Evanston’s streets.
Streets around NU, between Sheridan Road and Ridge Avenue, are included in the first phase of the project. In the past year, NU has addressed concerns about street safety by placing new lighting on campus and east of Sheridan Road.
The city project involves replacing the bulbs of the street lights, which currently use mercury vapor as a light source. These mercury bulbs have slowly worn out over time, Twigg said.
“It gets to the point where it’s just like a night light,” he said. “With these (new bulbs), they’ll hold their output for a number of years.”
The new units, with induction bulbs, have a lower wattage but give the same output. City engineers tested the bulbs for the past four to five years and found that the induction lighting is whiter and more natural, Twigg said.
Induction lighting is common in European countries but is new to U.S. cities. As of last year, only one or two communities in the nation used induction lighting, according to a city memorandum.
It is an overall positive situation for the city in the long run, Twigg said, because energy and repair costs will be lower with the new bulbs. The old mercury bulbs need constant repair, he said.
Priya Khatkhate, co-director of the NU Women’s Coalition, said relighting the streets is a step in the right direction for the city. Khatkhate, who lives in an off-campus apartment, said she uses the university’s escort service a couple of times every week.
“I just don’t walk around at night,” said Khatkhate, a Medill senior. “After being here for four years, I realize it’s not safe for anyone — male or female — to be walking alone at night.”
Evanston’s effort to improve lighting has been eagerly anticipated, said Catherine Whitcomb, assistant to NU’s vice president for student affairs. Nevertheless, she said, the lighting might not necessarily reduce violence around campus.
“The only thing I’m optimistic about is that there is going to be more light,” Whitcomb said. “I don’t know if I can draw any other conclusions about safety.”
The university was pleased that the city chose to start its lighting installation around the campus, said Lucile Krasnow, NU’s special assistant for community relations.
“We’ve always been concerned about the safety of the students,” she said, “and how dark the streets are at night.”
Krasnow said she hopes that the new lights will help reduce crime near campus.
“We’ll wait and see when they’re turned on,” she said.
