Park Will Be Test Case for Security Lighting
The first portion of a $2.1-million plan to install security lights in city parks was approved by the City Council this week.
The council agreed Tuesday without comment to hire a construction firm to install lighting in Mountain View Park as a model to gauge how well the proposed improvements work.
The program would upgrade security lighting in all city parks within approximately seven years.
The price tag for lighting Mountain View Park, a 5.5-acre facility off Aspan Street near Lake Forest Drive, will be about $89,000.
“We want to deter unwanted activities after closing hours” in city parks, Dick Fisher, a spokesperson for city lighting consultant Berryman and Henigar of Santa Ana, told the council.
The lighting program was sparked by last year’s attack on a 9-year-old girl at Serrano Creek Community Park, the second assault on a female there since 1992.
The council also directed staff to develop a plan for lighting Serrano Creek Community Park. Preliminary estimates indicate it will cost almost $500,000 to upgrade lights at the heavily vegetated, 4-acre facility.
Before any other parks are approved for security lighting, city officials said meetings will be held for residents in surrounding neighborhoods to get their input on the project.
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