Northwestern and Evanston officials are making “excellent progress” toward splitting the costs of nine new streetlights near South Campus, said Eugene Sunshine, NU’s senior vice president for business and finance.
In the tentative agreement, NU will pay to install the lights and Evanston will pay for power and maintenance. At its April 19 meeting, Evanston’s Preservation Commission approved NU’s installation proposal.
The proposal is not final and still must be approved by the Evanston City Council. It is separate from any agreement between NU and Evanston.
The lights will be installed on the public parkway in front of university property, so NU will have to give the lights to Evanston so they can become part of Evanston’s lighting system. Installation will cost from $7,000 to $8,000 per light, said David Jennings, Evanston’s public works director.
NU has proposed installing: four lights on Sheridan Road between Clark Street and Fisk Hall; two on Judson Avenue between Clark and Church streets; two on Clark near Sheridan; and one in front of the School of Continuing Studies, 405 Church St. Some lights would be in front of the John Evans Alumni Center, 1800 Sheridan Road.
NU brought the proposal before the Evanston Preservation Commission at its March 15 meeting, saying the lighting in that area was poor and “an inducement to crime,” said Mary Brugliera, a commission member.
The Preservation Commission was concerned because the Alumni Center and the School of Continuing Studies have been designated historic landmarks, Brugliera said.
“It was not just having lights on people’s property,” she said. “It was also that the lights proposed by the university did not meet our standards for the type of fixture that should go on a landmark property.”
The commission approved the university’s proposal once it was revised so that the lights would be the same model as other Evanston lights, Brugliera said.
Sunshine emphasized that NU and Evanston have not written a formal plan to install the lights and many details remain unresolved.
Because the lights will be installed on city property, NU must apply for a permit and use a contractor approved by the city.
“We’re very pleased that we have gotten this far,” he said. “We feel very good about it. It’s just not a done deal.”
Demand for better lighting rose among students and Evanston and NU officials during a string of more than 10 robberies and batteries on and near campus that began in September 2003.
In February, NU revealed a plan to install about 45 lights on campus, many along the east side of Sheridan. Sunshine said he is not sure if construction is complete, but “certainly most of it, if not all of it, that was planned is done.”
University officials decided the proposed streetlights south of campus are “necessary” partly because of the advice of Associated Student Government representatives, Sunshine said.
In November, several ASG representatives led university and Evanston officials on a tour illustrating lighting problems in the area.
Jill Sager, a co-planner of the light walks and an ASG senator, said she and three other representatives who attended the Preservation Commission meeting were “really thrilled” about the proposed lighting. Currently, students walking back from night events at the Alumni Center or from cars parked farther south on Sheridan pass through poorly-lit areas, she said.
Reach Tina Peng at [email protected].
