Downtown’s new City Center lit up the sky last night with its multicolored LED light show. City Center’s artistic lights are part of LexLights!, a new initiative by the Downtown Lexington Management District (DLMD) and Downtown Lexington Partnership (DLP) that aims to illuminate downtown Lexington.
Cities across the country have been pursuing light-related projects. Lights not only add ambiance, but well-lit cities also witness less crime.
LexLights! will improve lighting in downtown Lexington through two efforts. The first is to create impactful art and festive lighting projects through public-private partnerships. The second is to offer incentives to property owners to repair, replace, or enhance lighting with support from the DLMD and DLP Property Improvement Grant Program.
These partnerships will lead to improved lighting across downtown, from the lighting of pedways, to storefronts, to public art.
The concept of creating a better lit downtown originated from a public open house at the Hilton in 2018. At this open house property and business owners, residents, and the general public identified lighting as the top priority for downtown improvements. Also, in a 2018 survey of the seven-county metro area, residents ranked lighting improvements as the number one initiative that DLMD and DLP should pursue.
LexLights! dovetails nicely with the other lighting projects that have already taken place in Lexington. The historic courthouse is now beautifully lit, and string lights along Short and Mill Streets offer visibility and charm.
