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April 27, 2007 - 6:09AM
Downtown Scottsdale could warm to year-round glow
Lindsay Butler, Tribune
Lights on, Scottsdale. A group of city employees who oversee downtown want to hang festive lights in the area year-round, a move designed to help keep merchants open later. To light up the night would take an additional $66,000.
“We think the lighting program will help and will definitely draw people into those areas,” said John Little, Downtown Group executive director.
The City Council heard the proposal on Thursday as part of a budget discussion. No vote was taken.
Councilman Bob Littlefield expressed concern over wear and tear but was told the LED lights last many seasons, use less electricity and require less maintenance.
Each year between November and February, twinkly holiday lights are strung across Main Street and wrapped around tree trunks.
“It just brought the streets to life,” said Paul Piazza, Scottsdale Gallery Association president and director of the Rain Bird gallery. “It was absolutely amazing. People loved them.”
Distinctive lighting sets apart several areas in the Valley, such as DC Ranch, Little said.
Marilynn Atkinson, owner of Atkinson’s Indian Trading Post on Brown Avenue, said the lights add to the comfort of the area.
“It’s a safer environment with better lighting,” she said. “And the lighting connects the area, makes it more inviting, more comfortable to stroll around.”
The lights could also spur merchants to stay open past dinner.
Little pointed to other downtown amenities that stay open until 9 p.m.: Scottsdale Fashion Square, the Waterfront stores and the city trolley system.
But business owners remain wary.
“Things are beginning to expand, to be developed. You see more people come in at nighttime,” Piazza said. “We’ll eventually reach that point. But there’s not quite enough volume.”
One of the challenges to the proposal is the lack of publicly owned electrical sources throughout downtown. Because of it, private businesses would have to foot the power bill.
“They’re going to have some opposition to that,” said Trent Guerin, owner of G2 Gallery on Marshall Way.
The added cost to the utility bill is about $8 to $10 a month, Little said, and businesses are usually cooperative. The lighting program will cost $66,000 initially, but the downtown group would save money in the future by not having to take them down each spring, Little said.
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