Lack of Lighting a Concern near Laurel Park

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 5^th 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.