Sea Isle Looks to Shine With New Lighting

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Pat Haffert looked up at one of the new decorative light poles lining Sea Isle City's Promenade and gave his enthusiastic endorsement. "I like the decorative look," he said. "It is a friendlier, more welcoming and more inviting look. It adds to the appeal of the Promenade." Haffert, a Sea Isle City resident, was taking a stroll on the Promenade Friday afternoon with his wife, Terry Downey. They are among the first people to get a glimpse of the new lights as the city begins installing them along the popular oceanfront walkway from 35th to 44th streets. The lights will brighten up the Promenade, make it safer at night and add some visual pop. They are replacing antiquated "cobra-head" lights that have loomed over the Promenade for decades, perhaps as far back as when the walkway was first built in the 1960s, city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said. "In addition to being a more energy efficient and modern type of lighting, it will beautify the Promenade by adding more attractive light fixtures than the current overhead lights," Custer said. Sea Isle City couple Terry Downey and Pat Haffert walk by one of the new lights. As of Friday, new lights had been installed from 35th to 40th streets. The $843,000 lighting project will extend up to 44th Street when completed. The city is also adding a new public address system for the same area of the Promenade that is getting new lights. Custer explained that the PA system will be used for routine announcements, such as reminding bikers of the hours they are allowed on the Promenade during the summer. It will also come in handy if there are any emergencies, such as an announcement about a missing child, she added. The city waited until winter to install the lights to avoid any disruptions during the peak summer tourism season, when the Promenade is traditionally packed with pedestrians and bikers. "We didn't do the work in the summer because we didn't want to disrupt the good times people enjoy in the warm weather," Custer said. The work underway now is the first phase of a more extensive relighting of the Promenade that will eventually stretch the entire length of the walkway from 29th to 57th streets, Custer pointed out. The decorative lights are dramatically different than the stark streetlight-style fixtures currently on the Promenade. The new lights feature sleek black poles and a hooded top piece somewhat reminiscent of Victorian-era lamps. A side-by-side view shows a new light on the left compared to an antiquated one on the right. Sea Isle is also in the midst of beautifying other parts of town with decorative new street lighting under a separate contract costing nearly $1 million. They include:

• Both sides of Park Road from JFK Boulevard to 44th Street, which includes the Fish Alley neighborhood, an enclave of family-owned restaurants and fishing boats rooted in Sea Isle's early history as a small commercial seaport.

• Both sides of Landis Avenue between 49th and 51st streets along the city's downtown corridor.

• The west side of Landis Avenue between 59th and 65th streets.

• Both sides of 63rd Street from Landis to Central Avenue.

The project is expected to get underway in February and be completed in time for the summer tourism season, Mayor Leonard Desiderio said. New decorative lighting throughout Sea Isle will be similar to the black, Victorian-style street lamps that illuminate the John F. Kennedy Boulevard entranceway and some of the blocks along Landis Avenue in the heart of downtown. New decorative street lights like the ones lining the John F. Kennedy Boulevard entryway are planned in other parts of the city.