On August 16th we told you that during the evening, mourners were visiting the Pulse site in SoDo despite it being unlit: leaving flowers and kneeling to read tributes... in the dark.
On August 12th we asked Commissioner Patty Sheehan for help with lighting the site. She responded on August 16th saying that the City isn't allowed to light public property:
"I had our staff check the lighting. All of the street lights are fine, that is what the city maintains. Any other lighting would need to me on the Pulse site, which is private property. We can't provide lighting for private property owners."We responded with a possible solution and some additional thoughts:
"You can place city-owned mobile lighting onto the right-of-way that points onto the private property. I feel the city should provide lighting for the mourners regardless of who owns the land. This is an international event and people from all over the world are coming to see this property. To not provide lighting, to make mourners walk in the dark, makes our city look like we don't care about the mourners."Frank Billingsly responded:
"Mark. I have reached out to OUC"
Well they certainly did!
Heather Fagan, City of Orlando Deputy Chief of Staff, emailed us today regarding our "suggestion for improved temporary lighting around Pulse."
The City and the Orlando Utilities Commission worked together to come up with a solution!
OUC does not have utility poles directly in front of the area. The major roadway lighting infrastructure resides on the eastside of Orange Ave. To increase the illumination, OUC replaced three 250 watt High Pressure Sodium lights (Yellow Lights), with three 400 watt LED (White Lights) around and adjacent to Pulse.
- The two lights directly across the street on Orange Ave
- The light on the corner of Esther Street near Dunkin Donuts
In addition, OUC crews are installing an additional light on the OUC pole located on Esther Street just south of Pulse. This additional light will be placed on the backside of the utility pole facing north directly towards the night club and should provide even more lighting to this area.