Nearly 13 years after vandals destroyed lights along the Greenway Trail, it will again be illuminated at night, although in a different area.
But city officials, who held a grand opening for the 56 new lights from Hadley Street to the Five Points, said these lights should be vandal proof.
“Everything is up in the air,” Public Works Director Kyle Cason said about the lights that are on a more than 10-foot high post. “There also are no conduits in the ground. They’re solar powered with a battery pack on top.”
In February 2008, before the trail had even been completed, vandals stole copper wire from conduits, removed electrical wires along the ground and lids from irrigation control boxes and destroyed bollards, the short posts on the trail. Those lights — about 70 of them — were located in the Palm Park area.
The damage totaled $40,000, and within months, city officials decided not to replace the lights that had been paid for through a grant from Home Depot. At the time, they said it didn’t appear possible to protect the lights from being targeted again, and nearby residents in the Palm Park area reported they didn’t want them.
A state parks grant obtained by Assembly Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, paid for the $355,000 project.
The new lights already are appreciated by those using the trail Thursday.
“They’re nice,” Armando Valarao of Whittier, who said he uses the trail five times a week. “It’s very important for the for safety of those who walk at night.”
Antonio Ochoa, also of Whittier, agreed.
“We can walk at night,” Ochoa said. “It will be more safe.”
The first light was turned on at 4:47 p.m. Thursday but in fact the lights won’t come on until sunset and then will go off at 10 p.m. when the trail closes.
Mayor Joe Vinatieri said the lights — coming as winter is nearing — are another important amenity for the trail.
It’s the one thing that ties Whittier together, other than Whittier Boulevard, Vinatieri said. Both go east from west and hit all four council districts, he added.
“This will make it a more pleasant and safer experience for everyone,” Councilwoman Jessica Martinez said. “It enhances our quality of life. I look forward to enjoying it.”
The 1-mile area was chosen because the city had received complaints about the area being too dark.
A $450,000 state parks grant obtained by Assembly Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, is paying for the project.
The grand opening came three days after Tuesday when the City Council awarded an $8.1 million contract to Environmental Construction of Signal Hill to build the trail 2.8 miles from Mills Avenue to the La Habra border.
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Let there be light on Whittier’s Greenway Trail - The Whittier Daily News
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