Janesville Road Lights are On, But Why are They So Close?

For the most part the Janesville Road construction project has drawn relatively few complaints, at least if you gauge it from reader comments. However it's been what's over the street that has garnered most of the negative attention: the lights.

Most of you commented on the spacing, which is tighter than most light poles seen along highways, freeways or even Moorland Road.

In part, it's a downtown thing, according to Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti.

"The way we've been explaining it is that the poles over Moorland are also much higher, and therefore the light shed covers more of an area. However, the street scape plan is more suited for a downtown environment, where light poles are shorter, and therefore you need more of them to cast enough light onto the street," she said.

The physics of the lights also probably make neighbors on either side of Janesville, which features private homes that line the street on certain stretches, happier. A higher, broader light standard would wash their yards in the glow of streetlights, something that would likely draw complaints.

The road project is winding down and WE Energies has completed much of the wiring, so the lights are indeed now on and illuminating Janesville Road as of late Monday. Additional sidewalk lights are also in the process of being installed and wired, with the final work being done this week.