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Thursday, March 28, 2024

RTS to install solar-powered lights at select bus stops

A bright future

Pictured are solar panels outside ECS Solar Energy Systems Inc., the first licensed solar contractor in Florida, in February. The price of solar energy technology has dropped by 50 to 60 percent the past three years, according to Wendell Porter, lecturer and advisor in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at UF.

Solar-powered lights will be installed at 24 Regional Transport System bus stops in the Greater Gainesville area by the end of June.

The Federal Transit Administration will fund the $36,120 project to improve visibility and safety at each location, according to a press release.

Bus stop renovations usually focus on better accessibility and shelter, along with new trash cans and benches, Chip Skinner, the marketing and communication supervisor for RTS, wrote in an email.

“In the last year, however, we have received additional requests for bus stop lighting from both passengers and drivers,” he wrote.

There are approximately 1,200 RTS bus stops in Gainesville, Skinner wrote.

Factors such as the amount of people who ride at night and the length of a route’s service, along with current lighting levels and supervisor opinions, influenced which stops will receive the new lights, Skinner wrote.

The majority of lights will be installed in the area between Southwest Archer Road and Southwest Williston Road, especially along Southwest 34th Street.

Ridgemar Commons, The Laurels Apartments, Hunter’s Run Apartments and Lexington Crossing Apartments will have the new lights nearby.

Because of a multi-year contract between RTS and Tolar Manufacturing, Skinner wrote, Urban Solar will provide the lights.

Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said additional lighting is one of the basics of crime prevention.

“Anytime you have a well-lit area, criminals are likely to move on to another area,” he said.

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