OCEAN CITY – Officials in Ocean City last week agreed to have staff revisit efforts to install lighting at bus shelters in town.
Last week, the Ocean City Transportation Committee voted unanimously to have town staff research options for installing lights at otherwise dark and shady bus shelters throughout the resort.
“I do think it’s a program we ought to try to begin to initiate,” Mayor Rick Meehan said.
Last year, resort officials presented the committee with the idea of installing lighting at bus shelters throughout town. From those discussions, staff gathered price estimates and lighting options with the hopes of implementing a pilot program at select locations.
When asked about the status of the project last week, however, Transit Administrator Brian Connor told the committee efforts to install lights at the bus shelters were brought to a standstill.
“We were stepping back to reassess the needs and the applications,” he said. “We were waiting for direction on how we would want to proceed.”
Meehan said he wanted the town to continue exploring options for bus shelter lighting. He said staff could begin at shelters with easy access to electricity.
“I drive down the highway and look at some of those bus shelters at night,” he said. “They are dark, and light is your friend. To be able to light up those bus shelters would help encourage people to feel safer just riding the bus. And it’s a way to recognize where those shelters are. I think it’s something that we should consider. We should move forward with this.”
Councilman Dennis Dare agreed. He made a motion to have staff investigate bus lighting options, including solar applications, ahead of the annual budget process.
“I’d add not just where electric is available to do it, but also look at the solar application,” he said. “You are looking at shelters that have room for a solar panel on the roof, and some of the new LED lighting in that is pretty efficient.”
Meehan agreed, but said he considered electric lighting at certain locations to be “low-hanging fruit.”
“There are some applications that could be done sooner rather than later,” he said.
Dare’s motion passed unanimously.
Public Works Director Hal Adkins said he would add bus shelter lighting to his list of projects for the winter months.
“On that is enhancing lighting at some of the Parkeon machines …,” he said. “So we’ll add that to the conversation to see if there’s some level of technology that we can use in both locations.”
Meehan said the town could implement a pilot program for the summer season and expand lighting to additional bus shelters moving forward.
