April 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 52

OPERATIONS
Portland Parks and Recreation's Sustainable
Park Pathway Lighting Efforts
By Mark Ross

ortland (Oregon) Parks and Recreation recently completed a landmark energy efficiency project to improve lighting at many sites
while lowering the agency's costs and maintenance needs. The
effort is part of Portland's Climate Action Plan (tinyurl.com/
2jotlgh5) and focuses on environmentally friendly park pathway lighting
and improvements. Portland Parks and Recreation addressed nine sites in
the endeavor, all of them in North and East Portland, areas that are underserved by parks and green spaces.
rected upwards), as that can confuse
wildlife and increase light pollution. Portland Parks and Recreation
notes that the project is consistent
with dark sky practices (tinyurl.com/
wq15jmtt) and is supported by Portland Audubon.
" We see this effort as a way to
improve parks for people and wildlife while also reducing expenses, "
says Portland Parks and Recreation Director Adena Long. " The
eco-friendly project is right in line
with Portland's values. Portland
Parks and Recreation is committed
to stewarding our environment and
leading by example. "

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS AND RECREATION

" We are proud to continue work on
the Climate Action Plan, " says Portland Parks Commissioner Carmen
Rubio. " All of us on city council recognize that our city and planet are
in a climate emergency and investments like this in underserved neighborhoods will help Portland address
equity, conservation and efficiency. "
As part of Phase I of the project,
Portland Parks and Recreation replaced obsolete park pathway lighting
at seven parks with LED lights and
a new control system. In addition to
reducing long-term costs and improving reliability, the new LED fixtures
feature no " uplighting " (lighting di-

Lighting in Portland, Oregon's Ventura Park before retrofitting (left) versus after (right).

52 Parks & Recreation

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Portland Parks and Recreation
expects that the $350,000 pathway lighting retrofit will produce
approximately $23,000 per year
in energy and maintenance benefits. Additionally, the bureau expects the project to result in more
than $20,000 in rebates from Energy Trust of Oregon - funds which
will be reinvested in more energy
efficiency efforts. Portland Parks
and Recreation says it is open to
increasing the project scope going
forward.
" The new lighting control system
gives Portland Parks and Recreation
maintenance personnel the ability
to see any outage, remotely, in real
time, " says Darryl Brooks, Portland
Parks and Recreation's mechanical,
electric and plumbing manager. " This
will help us to fix any issues quickly.
We will see if expanding these sorts
of efforts make sense. There appear
to be many potential benefits! "
" Well-lit parks help our community feel safer in parks, " says Vicente
Harrison, Portland Parks and Recreation's health, safety and emergency
manager. He adds that this project
gives their public spaces the ability to
be both more secure, appealing and,
most importantly, more sustainable
for the environment.
City of Portland Procurement and
Portland's Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability also are project partners. For more project information,
please visit tinyurl.com/294coajc.
Mark Ross is Media and Public Relations
Officer for Portland Parks and Recreation
(mark.ross@portlandoregon.gov).

http://www.tinyurl.com/2jotlgh5 http://www.tinyurl.com/2jotlgh5 http://www.tinyurl.com/wq15mtt http://www.tinyurl.com/wq15mtt http://www.tinyurl.com/294coajc

April 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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