A city committee discussed adding streetlights to North Frances, West Gorham and North Henry Streets, along with other construction plans, in an administrative meeting Thursday.
Safety, especially that of students, motivated the discussion of additional sidewalk lighting on and around campus.
"The students' main form of transportation is their feet. These areas are well traveled by students, and seeing the lighting is very encouraging for a place that is otherwise incredibly dark," Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said.
Property owners along those streets, however, were unsatisfied with the cost of installing additional lights.
"Each light is $7,000; that's $50,000 in pedestrian lights that the landowners will have to shell out. They put up similar lights on Gilman and it didn't do any good. It's a burden for the landowners," Gilman Street property owner Rebecca Anderson said.
The State Street Design Project Oversight Committee also voted Thursday to expand the sidewalks of North Henry Street by 4 feet and reduce the street width.
Business owners raised concerns that the narrower street would cause navigation problems for vehicles trying to get past the delivery trucks that frequently stop on the street.
"This is a prime loading area for State Street. We're concerned about the real-life ability to navigate the street." Mary Carbine, executive director of business improvement of State Street, said.
Officials also discussed the status of the previously removed benches at 527 and 534 State St., as well as preliminary plans for reconstruction of Library Mall, primarily the addition of lining into the mall's fountain to stop leaking.
