Lighting up the town

Drew Chellani said he used to be scared to keep his Franklin Street store open past 9 p.m.

Now Chellani owner of Classic a women's clothing store" is hopeful that a new downtown lighting project will bring more customers to his store at all hours of the day.

Duke Energy installed 10 new street lights Wednesday that Chapel Hill town officials said they hope will be brighter and more energy-efficient on the 100 block of Franklin Street.

""The street gets very dark at night" and is almost deserted when there aren't students around Chellani said.

I am hoping that with the new lights" more people will come out this way.""

Installation of the 10 new lights cost $10"0 Chapel Hill Sustainability Officer John Richardson said.

The installation expense was shared by Duke Energy and the town equally while Duke Energy will pay for any maintenance costs.

Mayor Kevin Foy who was at the ceremony" said the town is interested in feedback about the new lighting.

""We're hoping that people will tell us if they think it's better or worse and whether it's brighter or not" he said.

Foy said he thought the lights looked sleek" modern and cool.""

Town officials will monitor the energy usage and brightness of the lights for the next year as part of a pilot project" Richardson said.

Based on observations they will decide whether to install the light emitting diode or LED lights in other areas of the town Richardson said.

Sue Koenigshofer owner of SCK Design on West Franklin Street wrote and circulated a petition among town residents and business owners requesting more lighting on the street.

There were 24 incidents of vandalism and 13 of breaking and entering on West Franklin in 2008 according to Chapel Hill police.

The town had been working with a consulting firm Mikyoung Kim Design for 18 months to revise its street design and lighting plans. The plans were originally created in 1993.

LED lights last longer than incandescent or fluorescent lighting and require less energy said Emily Cameron landscape architect with the Chapel Hill Public Works Department.

She said LED lights also do not typically burn out like traditional lighting but rather gradually decrease in output.

Richardson said he hopes that installing the LED lights will also help reduce the town's carbon emissions.

Elaine O'Neil a Chapel Hill resident and designer at The Laughing Turtle said that in addition to making the street brighter" she hopes the new lighting will help Chapel Hill remain environmentally conscious.

""The lights are going to use less energy" which is obviously going to help the environment and it could even save the town some money in the process" she said.

I don't see the negative.""





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