Temporary solar lamps light up Greene Street in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – After virtually six months, new solar-powered streetlights are bringing mild again to most of Greene Avenue.

The short-term lights are anticipated to be in place for 2 to a few years. After that, everlasting ones will substitute these as a part of the downtown revitalization challenge, hopefully, set to start out after Masters.

However for now, persons are simply glad there’s one thing in place.

“I believe it’s an ideal begin with the photo voltaic panel lights that they’ve put in. It’s nice for the atmosphere,” mentioned Daniel Scheiner, Greene Avenue neighbor.

Scheiner has been residing on Greene Avenue for 5 years and says he’s glad he’s now not residing in the dead of night.

Since final summer season, he says everybody on the road has been afraid of the darkish.

“I used to be taking out my trash one night time, and it was simply darkish, and this man approached me, and he was simply being pleasant, but it surely put me on my guard as a result of I didn’t see him coming, and so it was simply completely too darkish,” he mentioned.

His solely reservation is the center sidewalks from second to fifth avenue going in the direction of downtown are nonetheless darkish spots. Whereas it might appear to be it’s nonetheless a piece in progress, it’s that method on objective.

John Ussery is the director of site visitors engineering. He mentioned, “Should you see a niche within the lights or one facet has lights and one facet doesn’t, that’s due to the timber which might be there, we don’t wish to minimize down timber that we didn’t must.”

Everlasting new lighting for all of Greene Avenue might be coming within the type of a $50 million revamp of downtown, $13 million of which can go in the direction of Greene Avenue.

“The Greene Avenue challenge ought to begin someday after Masters of this yr, so the complete system might be eliminated and changed,” he mentioned.

However for now, Greene Avenue is this short-term repair for the following few years.

Scheiner mentioned: “I’m barely excited, a little bit bit nervous about seeing how they’re going to place it in.”

It must be totally accepted by the fee, which Ussery expects to occur in February.

However with that challenge’s approval, much more work with it could possibly be coming quickly.

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