2008 Woodie Awards
Bright lights, big campus
Facilities Services progresses on URI lighting safety
Lindsay Lorenz
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
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Since the Cigar's last report in December, the university appears to have replaced many bulbs and added a few more.
An internal memo from Facilities Services, prepared shortly after the walk, listed 45 areas in need of lighting maintenance. Since then, 39 of the items have been completed.
Of the remaining six spots awaiting repair, two lights are owned by South Kingstown, not URI. The university is waiting for the town to respond.
As for the remaining four spots, repairs for all are in progress. Jerry Sidio, director of Facilities Services said three have not yet been fixed because the university is awaiting an estimate from the electric company.
The walkway between Chafee Social Science Center and Woodward Hall is the last item on the list still seeking repair. But this time, the issue isn't darkness.
"It's not a security issue, it's an aesthetic issue," Sidio said.
Some students may have noticed there are streetlights on either side of the road, but when it gets dark, only half turn on. Sidio said one set is an older style and the other more modern.
Three years ago the light's power supply was severed during construction. Crews were not able to locate where the break was, so they supplemented by adding the new lights on the other side of the street.
The added lighting is substantial, but Sidio said he would like to either get the old lights up and running again or remove them completely.
"[The contractors] are going to have to do more extensive construction work to map out the fault," he said.
One item has been scratched off the memo since December. Between the area west of Coddington Hall and Meade Stadium, there is a particularly dark area that Sidio said has been demoted on the list of priorities.
"It's not our responsibility to provide 360 degree lighting around buildings because we don't want to encourage people to use [the dark area]," he said, explaining that the area crossed off the list isn't frequented by students, despite being close to a residence hall.