ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A city that’s lit up with millions of lights for the holiday season conducted a study to find out if much of its downtown area is too dark.
The study breaks down lighting in the area bound by Cordova, King and Orange Streets and Avenida Menendez, into four categories: bright, optimal, poor and very poor.
Data was collected over the span of a few months with Lux as the standard measurement. Its a measurement of the amount of light that falls on a surface.
According to a memorandum the study was requested by St. Augustine’s city commission.
However, Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline said in an email, the business community in the area asked, for more lights, during the time when the city began working to make downtown safer at night.
The light study showed a there were over 300 streetlights in the within the area studied and a good portion of the Historic District’s lighting falls within the “poor” and “very poor” range.
Debbie Jones, who has lived in the area for the last decade, said a study like this should have been conducted years ago to solve what she calls “ problem,” but she’s glad that the city is looking into fixing the issue.
“A lot of times I’m alone and I think ‘I’m going to go', and then I say, ‘No that’s not a smart move,‘” Jones said. “And there definitely are dark areas...I just try to be smart about it when I have other people with me, or I’ll go in the daytime.”
The study goes over short-term solutions and long-term ones. One short-term goal is to have FPL install overhead lights on existing poles on Cordova Street.
One long-term solution included redesigning Charlotte Street to become a curb-less street.
But whatever is done, Jones wants to make sure the upgrades fit the essence of the city.
“It needs to be the oldest inhabited city in the United States and it needs to be preserved,” she said.
The mayor also told News4JAX in an email that she’s not sure when suggestions in the report will be implemented since this is only a report and the commission would have to direct staff on further action.
A full presentation on this study will be done Monday at the commissioner meeting at 5 p.m. in the Alcazar Room.
