One of the largest solar lighting projects in the country is being tried out on the UW Madison campus.
Along a newly-built pedestrian path, 37 solar panels are perched on light poles. The path will give walkers and bikers a shorter, straighter option than the other twisted, time consuming route on the west end of campus. (6th item.)
UW Transportation planner Rob Kennedy says the solar path took 4 to 5 years to develop and build. Parking tickets helped fund it.
“It’s being paid for entirely out of program revenues; no tax dollars are going into it,â? says Kennedy. â??It’s already going to make a huge difference to pedestrian-friendliness on the west side of campus which has built in such a way that it’s hard for pedestrians and bicyclists to get around.”