Tour the sample lights in Whitefish

The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish area residents can take a walking tour Thursday evening to view sample streetlights on Columbia Avenue.

The Whitefish lighting committee is hosting the tour. Participants should meet at the corner of Second Street and Columbia Avenue at 7 p.m. Residents may also participate by stopping by Whitefish City Hall or the Whitefish Planning and Building Department for a self-guided tour map detailing the area; descriptions of the sample lights are included. The map of the self-guided tour includes a public comment section and also is available online at www.whitefish.govoffice.com (click on "Boards, Commissions and Committees" and then "Lighting Standards Committee"). Comments also can be sent to whitefishlighting@yahoo.com. Public input is encouraged.

The City Council-appointed committee has been studying ways to regulate outdoor lighting in Whitefish and its planning area to ensure safety and essential nighttime lighting while providing energy savings and the ability to see stars in the night sky, committee member Lisa Jones said.

When the committee studied existing city lighting, it was determined that the decorative street lamps installed in recent years create upward glare and wasted energy. At public hearing last November, city residents said they wanted to see samples of different street lights.

The committee worked with lighting vendors to obtain sample lights that were installed along Columbia Avenue last week. The sample lights will remain in place for the next 6 to 8 weeks.

Recommendations will be made in April to the Whitefish City-County Planning Board.