Silent Lights goes up on site on November 15th; photo by Shagun Singh

Updates
The last month has been the most intense month of the project to date. On November 15th we were on- site along with the metal fabricator and contractor as we installed the main structural elements for Silent Lights. It was a great moment for us; we finally got to see the whole installation come together for the first time after a week of troubleshooting on site. Earlier in the week our electrical contractor excavated a long trench right beside the sidewalk to power the gates. It happened to be raining that day, and in one of those “blessing in disguise” moments, a large puddle began to form right where the gate was supposed to be installed. After this discovery, a decision was made to extend the plan. And just like that the footprint of Silent Lights almost doubled in size. The biggest surprise about this happy accident was that the new configuration worked with the site so well that it felt like it had been planned that way all along.

Recent Wins
Our biggest achievement this month is to finally have most of the installation complete. The enthusiasm from the community that uses the path daily has been so extremely positive and encouraging that we just can’t for the moment in mid-December when all the lights will be functional.

Insight/Provovation
No matter how much planning you do, constructing outdoor public work will always have its series of unpredictable outcomes. As we approach the completion of our project after two long years—we have felt the impact of this time-and energy intensive project, but at the same time, we are incredibly proud and of what we have accomplished and are humbled by the whole experience.