ASWSU Lighting Initiative Updates

Cougs,

My name is Chase Gunnell and I am this years Director of Greek Affairs. As part of my position I serve as the chief ASWSU representative to projects on College Hill, including coordinating with Pullman City Council, the Pullman Planning Commissions CORE Plan, and as a Director on the Board of the College Hill Assocation. My current biggest project in this regard is the ASWSU Lighting Initiative.

The ASWSU Lighting Initiative was begun last fall to address lighting deficiencies on College Hill that could potentially lead to an unsafe environment for students and community residents. Just over $31,000 was allocated for lighting improvements from funds raised at last years Students For Safety Banquet, and an initial map of proposed light improvements was created. Regrettably, the project lost momentum with the turmoil of last Spring's University District proposal.

This fall, I renewed emphasis on the project, coordinating with WSU, Pullman Public Works and the Pullman Planning Commission, Avista Corporation and the College Hill Association. A walkthrough was conducted of College Hill on 10/18 by myself and other ASWSU Senators and Executives to update the Lighting Map with locations most effective at reducing lighting deficiencies and most applicable to the needs of WSU Students. Chase meet with Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman and Avista Corp. Engineer Tim Olson that week to go over the new locations and discuss implementation strategies for the project. The project was also discussed at length during the College Hill Association meeting and Pullman Planning Commission Hearings at the end of October.

Ideally, we are hoping the ASWSU Lighting Initiative will go as follows: The city will confirm all or most of our proposed new Avista Standard Street Light locations, install new lights and pay to maintain them as they are under city jurisdiction. The updated locations for these new street lights are the corner of Garfield and Indiana, Oak Street between Ruby and Opal, Opal Street between Oak and Ash, and Maiden Lane between Spaulding and Maple. Tree maintenance will be conducted on Indiana and Maple streets to allow for greater light proliferation. Light maintenance will be done on Opal Street, Maple Extension and Spaulding Street to address damaged or broken lights. These locations will be addressed by the Pullman Public Works in the upcoming weeks.

Decorative lights, funded by ASWSU and branded with ASWSU and City of Pullman plaques will be added to Campus Street and Colorado Street to serve as the most visible aspect of this project as well as improving lighting in the most trafficked areas on College Hill. Two or Three lights and a new sidewalk will be constructed on B Street from California to Alpha Streets, co-funded by ASWSU and the City of Pullman. ASWSU will continue to work with the CHA, landowners, property managers and Fraternity and Sorority Chapters in hopes of installing Area and floodlights in dark alleys that could be co-funded by the property owners, Greek Chapters and ASWSU.

At this point, we are waiting to receive survey and estimate information from Pullman Public Works and Avista Corporation. We are also exploring options to communicate with Property Owners and Managers about potentially raising additonal funds for the project, as it benefits their tenets and can possible raise their property values.

Installing new lights in the College Hill neighborhood is a complicated process involving a number of players. But it is our hope that we can get these lights in the ground and create a safer campus and community environment for all.

Cheers,

Chase Gunnell

ASWSU Director of Greek Affairs

chasegunnell@wsu.edu