There is no doubt that local parks are a huge part of American cities, suburbs and counties.  Not only are they symbolic of the vitality of the community but they are a draw for families looking for recreation as part of their quality of life.  Many times they are the center point of the community.

But they are open. And as such, open to vandalism. El Paso spends $50,000 per month to repair damage from vandals. Colorado Springs sees park vandalism on a weekly basis. The National Recreation and Park Association recognizes this as a national issue.

That didn’t stop Omaha from creating a special environment for its citizens.  14.8-acre Gene Leahy Mall (GLM) in Nebraska was reimagined as part of The Omaha River Front Revitalization Project—an approximately $325 million initiative aimed at reviving a total of 72 acres of downtown parkland along the Missouri River, transforming three underutilized parks into attractive leisure areas. 

Lighting designers from Atelier Ten, landscape architects from OJB, and architects from Gensler worked to breathe a second life into the beloved outdoor mall in a nearly complete overhaul of the entire area. Renovations included the removal of a street that formerly crossed the park; additional lighting along bioswales; additions such as a color-changing performance space, art sculptures, and a nearly 200-ft long structure known as the “community swings.” Though the lighting team created a special scheme inspired by the plant life and sky in Omaha, their top priority was to provide a sense of safety after dark.

One of the primary components of the new park was to ensure it was extraordinarily well lit both to provide an inviting environment at night and to mitigate vandalism.  Thus, vandal and weather-resistant fixtures were key to ensuring the longevity of the park. Lighting designer Joshua Spitzig came up with the concept for the solution and worked with Apogee Lighting engineers to design a custom enclosure extrusion for Apogee’s high efficiency Pureflex product.  Spitzig designed the extrusion so that it could be used vertically, mounted against a surface and aiming down, or rotated around and mounted so that the light beam is tilted at 45 degrees, throwing light from under benches.

The Apogee extrusion captures the Pureflex without creating breaks in the diffused light while the sophisticated mating detail limits the required hardware to a set of tamper-proof screws hidden from view. A small, hermetically sealed remote driver box is hidden under the benches and designed to withstand temporary flooding from the riverfront during storms.