Stay alert, have a plan, and never go alone.

These are tips often given to young, college aged women when being advised on how to get home safely when it’s dark out. As winter nears and the amount of daylight grows less and less, the need for lighting our roads is essential to the safety of students living off campus. There are 3200 streetlights and counting in the city of Bloomington and they are under the Public Works committee in City Hall. Christina Smith has worked in this department for over 23 years and is responsible for helping decide where to place new lights

The city of Bloomington has a contract with Duke Energy that helps keeps the streetlights on and running. Due to this, the city has no way of knowing when a light is out without the help of the residents who live in their areas. Out lights can be submitted here on the Bloomington website. “Many people associate safety with lighting,” Smith says. She says the city does all it can on a limited budget, and says great care goes into deciding where to place new lights. Around $500,000 is allocated to pay Duke Energy to keep the lights on, and Smith says she’s going to go a little over budget.

While the city tries to do the best it can, many students say it seems as though some streets aren’t lit well enough. Anna Mickelson is a graduate student studying at the Optometry School and walks down South Woodlawn Avenue to Bryant Park where she parks her car everyday. If she has to walk home at night, she always makes sure to walk with a group of fellow students. Students who live off-campus seem to share Mickelson’s concerns with safety at night, but Smith says they are doing the city is doing the best it can with the budget it has. Smith says if someone sees a light in need of replacement, or a particularly dark area to call the city at 812-349-3448

 

Safety at night is one of the most important practices a student can maintain. Learning the route you will take and the lighting surrounding the route during the day is a good start to being safe.