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Council weighs string-light options for $325,000 downtown streetscape grant
Summary
Crafton council debated several string-mounted lighting designs for a $325,000 DCED downtown streetscape grant, focusing on color capability, roadway clearance and procurement timing; staff will return with costs, photometrics and vendor samples before a construction bid is issued.
Crafton Borough Council spent the largest portion of Thursday’s meeting reviewing near-final plans for a grant-funded downtown streetscape that would add string-mounted lighting, pedestrian upgrades and other improvements.
Miss Compello, who presented the project, said the borough has a $325,000 DCED grant for pedestrian and business-district improvements and that the design team is seeking direction on the lighting style before finalizing construction bid documents. “The big conversation for tonight really is to get a sense of these string lights — what do they look like? What can they do?” she said.
Staff and Gateway consultants showed five lighting options ranging from simple white-only fixtures to RGBW (color plus white) systems. Council discussion focused on three practical constraints: the grant timetable; the need for 20 feet of roadway clearance for fixtures and stringing; and procurement and maintenance questions. Scott, a borough engineer/staff member, emphasized the clearance requirement: “We need to be 20 foot clear of the roadway for these lights,” noting that taller poles or raised bases may be required for larger fixtures.
Councilors asked staff to gather more details before moving to construction bidding: itemized pricing for each fixture family, photometric plans showing how bright each option will be at sidewalk level, sample installations or nearby case studies, durability and maintenance expectations for LED drivers and assemblies, and whether the fixtures are available through CoStars or other cooperative procurement. Several members suggested testing samples in place and speaking with other jurisdictions that have installed similar systems.
Miss Compello said the borough can separate the construction work (poles, concrete bases, string supports) from the fixture purchase. That approach would allow crews to put pole foundations in the ground under the grant timeline while the borough continues evaluating which fixture to buy, but council cautioned some fixture types require different pole spacing or supplemental poles that affect bid scope and cost.
No formal motion was taken. Staff was directed to return to the next council meeting with refined costs, photometric plans, sample availability and vendor recommendations so the construction portion can be put out to bid in time to meet grant deadlines.
