Welland, ON Lighting Project Earns BIA, IESNA Awards
May 07 2016
The Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA), a resource for education, partnership and collaboration to each Business Improvement Area (BIA) across Ontario, has recognized the City of Welland for its Main Street Bridge revitalization project. At its recent 2016 BIA Conference, OBIAA honoured the town, Philips Lighting, the Regional Municipality of Niagara, and lighting designer Marcel Dion with the BIA Award of Distinction. Dion has also earned a 2016 IESNA award of merit for his work on the project.
Welland chose to revitalize the Main Street Bridge, a significant symbol of the town’s history and pride, as a means of stimulating the local economy and establishing Welland as an economic centre in the region. To accomplish this, Marcel Dion conceptualized and oversaw the installation of a new connected lighting system from Philips, illuminating the bridge and adding colour to showcase the structure’s capabilities.
Today, the Main Street Bridge is illuminated with vibrant colours and bright white light every day until midnight. ColorReach Compact Powercore fixtures were used to light the two towers standing at either end of the bridge and to illuminate the operating cables, ColorGraze MX Powercore fixtures were used on the outer perimeter and underside of the structure to highlight the metal beams, and eW Burst Powercore was mounted to the center of the structure above the roadway for primary street lighting.
As a result of this initiative, Welland has seen a 10% increase in local businesses, tourism growth, and improved night life and safety.
Read more about the Welland Street Project, including a Q&A from award winning designer Marcel Dion. Watch for more on IESNA 2016 award of merit winners in an upcoming issue.
