The lights are about to literally come on in Ypsilanti's Riverside Park. The city's department of public works has finished installing new lights in the park and expects to turn them on within two weeks.
The $83,000 project provides 24 new lights in the park that will make it friendlier to both pedestrians and event goers. The park had lights until about five years ago. A combination of age and corrosion (the park is located in a flood plain) hastened their deterioration.
"The lights that were there were such an old, antiquated system that they just kept going out," says William Bohlen, director of public works for Ypsilanti.
Riverside Park, one of the city's largest recreation areas, runs along the west side of the Huron River. It bridges Depot Town and Downtown, and is used for a number of the city's festivals. The lack of lights in recent years forced event organizers to bring in their own. The new lights will satisfy that need plus make the park safer at night.
"It's mutually beneficial to everyone," Bohlen says.
Source: William Bohlen, director of public works for Ypsilanti
Writer: Jon Zemke