Since August, these groups have been developing a plan to install lighting along the most commonly used sidewalks in the “student ghetto,” the area of houses east of campus. The exact route is still being determined.

Elise Higgins, Topeka senior and Student Senate community affairs director, said the lack of lighting in that area was a safety problem student groups had been looking at for years. She said she hoped it would become a reality next fall.

“I’ve lived around 13th and Louisiana and often walk in that area now,” said Higgins. “We don’t want and women or men to have to worry about safety.”

The City of Lawrence is working with Student Senate and five other student organizations to make the possibility of a lighted pathway from campus to downtown Lawrence a reality for students walking late at night.

Shani Nisman, San Antonio senior, moved into an apartment on Kentucky Street at the beginning of this semester. She said she liked the idea because so many students lived in the area.

“Sometimes if I’m at the library kind of late and I’m walking down the hill, I look behind me and around the entire time just because I’m a girl late at night alone,” Nisman said.

Nisman said that friends had warned her to be careful when she was out late because she could be mugged or attacked.

One lighting option, Higgins said, would be 3-foot, tamper-proof pedestrian lights. She said the groups have considered various options for the light source, but whatever they decide on would meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

While safety is the most prominent concern, it isn’t the only issue involved in the decision-making process. Mark Thiel, assistant public works director for the city, said cost was also an issue.

“We will determine the scope of the project based on funds,” Thiel said.

City and campus groups are still figuring out how they would pay for the lighted path, Higgins said. She also said funding and the community development grant the groups were hoping for still needed to be applied for. Higgins said the groups would find out the cost of the project in five or six weeks.

The organizations anticipate neighborhood concerns about light pollution, which happens when light reaches nearby homes instead of the intended areas. Both Higgins and Thiel said that issue and the project’s cost would be addressed at a meeting in November.

Greg Rudnick, assistant professor in astronomy, said there was scientific evidence that light pollution was detrimental to nature. Beyond that, he said, the project could cost residents a lot more on their energy bills if administered incorrectly.

“The big thing is going to be energy savings,” Rudnick said. “I think it will be beneficial to the city to look at long-term price tag instead of what will be cheaper now, because that may not lead to the most energy-efficient solution.”

Higgins agreed that the price tag on the new light fixtures was a big concern to campus groups and city officials.

“We have to find a balance between good lighting in the area and the best interests of the neighborhood,” Higgins said. “But so far the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the cost.”

— Edited by Sarah Kelly