As winter transitions to spring, the days will start
to get longer, and natural light will do its part to illuminate Laurel Park and
its surroundings. But for now, some
residential streets, such as Laurel Street and High Street, are swathed in
winter darkness.
For some residents around the area, the darkness
creates a safety issue.
One of those residents is Kayla Thomas, a sophomore at
Western Washington University, who has been living on the 1100 block of High
Street since Sep. 2. Since moving
in, Thomas said her house has been broken into at least once.
“They took all Apple products, money, and left the
Dells,” she said. “Our house has been
broken into and so have others across the street.”
She said she feels a little light would go a long way,
preventing burglaries and providing a safer environment.
“Right now there are no street lights on High Street,”
she said, emphasizing the “no.” “It’s
pitch dark.”
Bellingham doesn’t have any requirements for lighting
on residential streets according to Clark Williams, transportation
superintendent with public works. He
said that, at the moment, the budget doesn’t allow for it. Lights, he said, are only put in place by the
city for arterial streets; major streets designed to move traffic as
efficiently as possible.
“We have around 4,800 street lights in Bellingham,” he
said. “The city pays $50,000 a month on
the electricity bill, we can’t simply add one, or two, or three lights whenever
anyone asks for one.”
City Council President Terry Bornemann represents the
Sehome neighborhood as head of the 5th ward. He too said that it was an issue of finding
the money if lights were ever to be installed, but mentioned that if there was
enough demonstration by residents, possibly via a petition, the issue could be
looked at more closely by the city. He
also indicated one major argument against added lights.
“There are a number of people that have trouble with
the concept of light pollution,” he said.
Light pollution, which is the illumination of the
night sky by man-made sources that inhibits the observation of stars, is a problem
for some people said Mark Young, public information officer for the Bellingham
Police Department.
“At some point, too much light becomes a problem,” he
said. “You have to strike a balance.”
In relation to crime, Young said that while lighting
is a factor, it is not the only factor.
It is a combination of solutions he said.
“Historically, lighting is an answer most people turn
too, but sometimes lighting creates more opportunities for people to commit
crimes,” he said.
Bruce Derr has been a resident on the 1000 block of
High Street for more than 2 ½ years. He
lives less than a block from Laurel Park and said that lights would deter
misbehavior in the park.
“Some people seem to be emboldened, under the cloak of
darkness, to misbehave in Laurel Park. The park seems to be a popular place to
gather and drink alcoholic beverages late at night, especially on a Friday or
Saturday night,” he said in an email.
Parks and Recreation Director Marvin Harris said that
Laurel Park gets more use when students are around and is impacted by more of
the college population. He said that he
foresees little change in the future and to avoid dangerous situations.
“If it’s a dark park and you decide to walk through
it, that’s your individual choice,” he said.
Thomas believes the addition of lights would create
the perception of security.
“I don’t know if statistically it would help, but I
would feel safer,” she said.
In addition to her house being broken into, Thomas
said that her sense of safety took another hit when Western informed students
in an email that an assault was reported on the 1100 block of High Street on
Feb. 28th.
A 19 year old female student from Western, was walking
home at 3 a.m. when a man came up behind her and forced her to the ground at
knifepoint. The altercation took place
less than a block from where Thomas currently lives. She said the incident was more concerning to
her safety than the burglary.
“The break-in was more of a property violation,” she
said. “This time it’s someone attacking
another person.”
Young knew of the reported assault and called
attention to the need for a “common sense of movement,” where a level of
responsibility is placed upon the traveler to walk safely.
Western’s email also provided tips for traveling
safely emphasizing to never walk alone, but if walking alone can’t be avoided,
“stay in well-traveled and well-lighted areas.”
But not all students live in well-lighted areas.
“My concern is that lots of students walk to and from
the WWU campus on High St. throughout each day, however, at night, it's scary
for anyone to walk up or down High St.,” said Derr in reference to the lack of
lighting.
Thomas said that she sometimes has to walk alone after
a long day on campus.
“I try and avoid walking alone, but I had to that
time,” she said referring to one of her long days.
