Giselle Walker, an Architecture student, recently published a column in The Oklahoman about streetlights and public safety in Oklahoma City.
Written as part of a Regional + City Planning course, “Planning with Diverse Communities” with Dr. C. Aujean Lee, the column titled “Lack of streetlights should be a public safety concern for Oklahoma City” explores the public safety concerns surrounding poorly lit streets. In the column, Giselle discusses the current streetlight requirements in OKC and why they are not enough, “If OKC implemented smaller lighting gaps, travelers would feel an increase in safety after dark, and would ultimately require fewer policing resources.”
She goes on to look into funding for new streetlights, explaining how the upcoming MAPS 4 funding initiative focuses on tourist corridors such as the Paseo District, Windsor District, and NW 10 instead of expanding lighting across the entire city. She writes, “By choosing to focus on lighting in tourist corridors, the city is making a clear statement that the safety of our visitors is paramount to the everyday taxpayer. We need proper lighting all over our city, everyone deserves to feel safe.”
When interviewed about The Oklahoman piece, Giselle said, “I wrote about the streetlight coverage issue in OKC, because I’m directly affected by it. When I pull out of my neighborhood, I drive 0.7 miles in complete darkness. I live just south of a NW Expressway intersection in OKC, where pedestrians are hit after sundown, all the time. I can’t help but wonder – How much of their safety is compromised because they are traveling unseen? The goal of this Op-Ed was to shed light on a real-world local planning or policy issue. I believe it was successful, as the OKC MAPS Program Manager has since reached out to me. This complex policy and planning issue has been alerted to someone who is in the position to facilitate change.”
Read Giselle's entire column at The Oklahoman's Website.
Image caption. Photo credit: photographer's name.
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