Prospects have dimmed for lighting in the trees by Veteran’s Plaza.
“It became quite a topic of conversation during the Winter Games, so I had an opportunity to talk to staff to talk about illumination,” explains Mayor Hall. “The stringed lighting in the trees that was causing some issues with the health of the trees.”
They were taken down, and Council looked at new light options as part of a possible budget enhancement.
However, they were unimpressed by the minimum flood light cost of $88,000.
“I looked at it and I thought boy, 30 lights, $132,000… even 20 lights at $88,000. It’s unbelievable,” added Hall. “I wasn’t prepared to support this”
Councillor Terri McConnachie echoed the sentiment, and wants to see the lights revisited in the future.
“I don’t want to lose this, but there’s got to be a better way than spending $100,000.”
Councillor Jillian Merrick says it wasn’t a priority for her.
“Even if we did have some room in our budget for this project, it’s still a priority for me around the massive demand we’ve had around pedestrian and street lighting. So if we’re going to light something up, it should be walkways, intersections and crosswalks. I miss the lit trees, but they’re beautiful all on their own.”
Council will look at other avenues, like company-sponsored lighting in the future.