Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pathway Lighting

[Joani Blank (jeblank]

At Doyle St. we don't have a pathway anywhere. Parking lot and driveway are
lit by with just five lights. Like Puget Ridge our "porch" lights provide
plenty of light to get around at night. They and the other lights are on a
light sensitive timer (which is set too sensitive so they come on much
earlier, and go off much later than they need too). We took the bulb out of
one porch light, because it glares into the hot tub, A joy of urban
cohousing? Streetlights. One of them looms just by our gate, actually
obviating the need for our parking lot lights at all. A pain of urban
cohousing? A motion-sensitive light needed to discourage prowlers behind
our building, which much more commonly is activated by a cat or raccoon
walking back there, rudely awakening a light sleeper into whose window the
security light beams.

What about battery powered lights.? It could be some kids' responsibility
to turn them on every night when it gets dark, and a night-owl-adult
(bearing a flashlight if porch lights don't suffice) could turn them off
before or she retires--a short walking meditation in preparation for bedtime. 

Here's a real cheap idea. Buy 100 one- or two- dollar flashlights. Each
resident could "own" one or two (which the kids--or adults for that matter
-- could enjoy decorating). Then have a basket or drawerful of  spares and
extras for guests in the common house, as well as to replace those that get
lost or broken. Something close to the most-used door, so that people can
drop theirs in and collect it when they leave. Same for each house if there
are several household members, or a lot of coming and going at night. 

Joani Blank
Doyle St. CoHousing and Old Oakland/Swan's Market CoHousing. (SF Bay Area, CA)