SEBASTIAN – Easy Street Park visitors should have an easier time of walking the trail after the sun goes down once new lights are installed.
The Sebastian Parks and Recreation Committee is considering various lighting options for the park’s walking trail after some residents expressed a need. The city expects the project to cost at least $25,000, though there have been no funds allocated for the work.
Electrical work alone, could run the project that much, according to Administrative Supervisor Linda Kinchen.
“I don’t, personally, think we need the lights,” committee chair Joann White said, but added that some people have expressed an interest.
Because the park is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, concern was expressed that the park lighting might affect the nearby residents.
White said that if they were to move forward with lighting the walking trail, the lights should be low to the ground and just bright enough to illuminate the path.
Kinchen pointed committee members to the pedestrian lighting along Indian River Drive and at the Main Street Boat Ramp as examples.
“They’re way too bright,” White said.
City Manager Al Minner suggested committee members not look at the brightness of the lights, but instead the styles and heights. He said the city can change the wattage of the bulbs for the lights to make them less bright.
JoAnn Webster recommended they look at the lights at Hardee Park for possibilities.
No one from the area surrounding Easy Street Park spoke against installing lights along the trail.
The committee was tasked with visiting the park at night to see how dark the path is and to also visit other parks in the evening to compare lighting.
Members plan to discuss their findings at their next meeting in late October.
The public is allowed to attend the Parks and Recreation Committee meetings, which are held on the last Monday of the month, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Meetings are held in the Sebastian City Council Chambers and are not televised.