The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补 is working to make nighttime travel across campus safer by identifying well-lit pathways between residence halls, parking areas and buildings that students use after dark.
The 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 Office of Planning and Spatial Experience (OPSE) is gathering student feedback as part of its Exterior Lighting Design Study, which examines campus safety and circulation alongside energy efficiency and campus ecology.
“We’re looking at setting up safety corridors on campus,” 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 Planning and Experience Transformation Director Brian Strawn said. “That means making sure the main pathways students travel on campus at night are well lit so they feel safe.”
Students are helping identify areas that may need attention by marking campus locations based on how safe they feel walking there at night.
“They’re putting red where they don’t feel safe, yellow where it’s kind of in between, and green where they feel totally comfortable walking at night,” Strawn said.
The goal is to use that feedback to prioritize commonly traveled nighttime routes.
“We’re trying to figure out how to safely get them from the dorms and parking areas on campus to the buildings they visit that are open 24 hours a day or late into the evening,” Strawn said.
Balancing safety and campus ecology
As 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 considers lighting improvements, OPSE is also examining how exterior lighting could affect protected bird species found on campus, including Manu o Kū, or white terns, and Kōlea, or Pacific golden plovers.
OPSE consulted bird experts Sheila Conant, Eric VanderWerf and Rich Downs, who shared that both species are generally tolerant of ambient lighting in Honolulu. Predators and disturbances remain greater concerns.
Downs said there has been “no evidence to date that they [Manu o Kū] have abandoned nesting trees or are avoiding areas that are now more brightly illuminated.” Nighttime observations have also found Manu o Kū nesting and roosting near light sources around 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 and urban Honolulu.
The Exterior Lighting Design Study will consider student safety, lighting levels and placement, energy efficiency and campus ecology as 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 plans future improvements.