Lights! – Janet Fardette and the “Lovely Ladies of the Levee”

Pushing up an oversized prop light switch Friday night, San Lorenzo River levee advocate Janet Fardette helped commemorate the city’s latest park improvement works.

“This is a reflection of long-time community interest and dedication to improving the health of our river environmentally, in terms of public safety, in terms of connecting our neighborhoods downtown,” Mathews said. (Mayor, City of Santa Cruz, Cynthia Mathews)

 Santa Cruz Sentinel Article, January 22, 2016

The Levee has finally received much long overdue security lighting. The new 15-16 feet tall lights will use energy efficient LEDs and be directed downward on the levee pathway with lenses and skirts to help minimize any light spillover. The lights will be located on the landside of the levee path to help shield the river further from spillover light. (for those of you familiar with Dark Skies – lighting that directs light where it is needed creates a balance between safety and starlight.) These lights are fully shielded minimize skyglow, glare and light trespass.

Janet Fardette and the “Lovely Ladies of the Levee”

Janet Fardette has worked tirelessly on beautifying and cleaning up the levee for over 6 years. Her dedication and persistence was a major factor in the recent installation of lights along our Riverwalk.  The levee was a neglected mess when she started her mission but has steadily improved from her volunteer service of picking up trash and photo documentation. Janet writes weekly reports sent to the City that documents the conditions of  our levee and includes well thought out intelligent requests to improve the quality of the San Lorenzo Riverwalk. It’s been a slow process, but with her patience and perseverance, we’re getting there.

Want to know more about Janet and the Lovely Ladies of the Levee??  Check out this recent video: