The RDOS intends to install streetlights on the West Bench Hill portion of the pedestrian corridor. Although lighting was not within the scope of the original pedestrian corridor project, conduit and bases were roughed-in during path construction.  Since then we have seen strong support within the Area F Parks Commission and the community as a whole for corridor lighting.  We propose to fund the capital cost of the lights from the Area F allocation of Gas Tax funds and fund on-going operations and maintenance from the existing West Bench street lighting service.

The task now is to pick a light.  Many of you participated in Round 1 of this survey.  Participants in that survey were presented with a range of lighting styles from contemporary to traditional and asked to rate each on a seven point scale from “unacceptable” to “perfect”.  As noted previously, the results of the Round 1 survey were ambiguous.  Most residents would be willing to accept most of the alternatives presented in the survey.  However, beyond that, each light had strong proponents and opponents.  Such variances in taste are normal and we did not expect to have a single dominant alternative.  Rather, the purpose of the Round 1 survey was to provide RDOS staff with valuable preference information that could be combined with technical specifications, cost, and advice from local architects and lighting designers to develop a refined short list of alternatives.

The purpose of the Round 2 survey is to collect updated preference information regarding the refined short list.  The primary difference in Round 2 is that we ask you to consider lighting within the context of the “mid-century modern theme that exists on the West Bench and which we referenced when constructing the Veteran’s Tribute at Selby Park. Specifically:

1. The more traditional styles from Round 1 have been dropped from further consideration.  They do not fit well with the modern theme despite being favored by some when considered in isolation.
2. We attempt to show each lamp in the context of the proposed West Bench sign.

You will see that the sign, as it is currently envisioned, draws the same design elements as the new signage at Selby Park: simple concrete shapes, stainless steel, and modern typeface.  The overall objective of this theme is to pay homage to the particular point in time when most of the homes on the original West Bench were built.  Our preference is that the lighting reinforce this theme.

Please rate the different styles below on the scale from "unacceptable" to "perfect". There is also space for an optional comment, should you choose to elaborate. Please also remember to hit the "submit" button at the bottom right when you are done.

Note: Although a factsheet is provided for each light, we are most interested in your views on the look and basic functionality of each fixture.  We do not expect you to delve into the technical details or speculate about costs.

We thank you in advance for your input on this issue.

Michael Brydon | Director, Area F |  Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen

Mark Woods  |  Community Services Manager  |  Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen   

101 Martin Street   Penticton BC V2A 7Z3  | www.rdos.bc.ca

P 250.490.4132  | F 250.492.0063  | TFP  1.877.610.377 | E  mwoods@rdos.bc.ca

 

Update 20 Sep 2015: By way of context, I should remind people of what we have on the West Bench now (Bartlett and Lambert):