Lighting Plan Aims To Enliven Dark Downtown

The past few years have seen downtown Eugene grow livelier, and it’s about to get brighter, too. A plan is under way to light the streets to make them prettier during the dark winter months. It is expected to be in full effect for the upcoming holiday season. Behind this plan is Downtown Eugene, Inc., a private nonprofit association of business and property owners in the area.

LED lighting tubes manufactured by Eugene-based Light Beam Industries will eventually hang down from all 44 light poles in the downtown area as a replacement for lights that weren’t nearly as bright or energy efficient. “We learned that they could construct those lights,” says Dave Hauser, president of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce. “We hired them to build a prototype, which is the lights that you see in the downtown now, and we are in the process of raising enough money to build enough lights to install them along Broadway and Willamette, between Pearl and Charnelton and 11th and 7th.”

The prototype currently hangs from the light poles on the corner of Willamette and Broadway. Hauser estimates that more than $100,000 in donations from local businesses is necessary to finance the entire project, which would also include LED lights in the trees on north Willamette and East Broadway. “All of that is a pretty ambitious plan,” Hauser says. “We’re not quite there yet, but we’re close.”

The function of the lights is to have a fixture that is reminiscent of the flower baskets that reside throughout downtown. “If you’ve seen the baskets, you know they kind of transform downtown in the summer,” Hauser says. “They make it feel and look a lot different when they are in bloom. And so the concept comes that when winter comes, when it’s dark and dreary, is there a way downtown Eugene could recreate the effect of the flowers?”

Not only will these lights be energy efficient, Hauser says they can also be programmed to display different colors to represent holidays, Ducks’ home football games and other events. “We wanted to do something that was unique enough so that it could be an attraction unto itself,” Hauser says. “We wanted to do something so unique that if you have a visitor, you would tell them, ‘Hey, I’ve got to take you downtown to show you these lights, they’re very cool.’”

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!