In busy downtown Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, McEuen Park's sprawling green space overlooks the beautiful Coeur D'Alene Lake. Once obscured by a public parking lot, the view has been transformed, with utilitarian asphalt replaced by a picturesque plaza offering an unparalleled lookout across the waterfront. And that's not all that has changed.
Only a few short years ago, the Parks and Recreation department of the city set about redesigning the large, underutilized green space in the city's center, which hosted a baseball diamond and little else. Their mission was to transform the area into a user-friendly and tourist-friendly hub that would breathe new life into the vast landscape and unite people of all ages and abilities looking to play, relax and enjoy a peaceful respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Their mission was a success. In May of 2014, the new McEuen Park was officially unveiled to the public. Boasting 20 acres of land, the park features impressive amenities such as a playground, an environmentally and safety-conscious Splashpad with water features, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, an off-leash dog park, a Veteran's memorial, the Avista Grand Pavillion, Grand Plaza, Rotary Harbour House and a four acre grassy area. The park also hosts an underground parking lot for 430 vehicles, a boat launch, mooring facilities and a section of the 60-mile Centennial Trail that runs through its middle.
Effectively lighting a park of this scale was an essential component. Contracted to help with the lighting redesign, Coeur D'Alene's Trindera Engineering aimed to define the park's key spaces while maintaining respect for neighboring areas. The firm set about lighting a space with light levels and aesthetics appropriate to the surroundings.
"We were inspired by full-cutoff LED lighting that would protect the dark sky and deliver adjustable lighting levels that would reduce light trespass into residential areas," explained Barbara Barker, Principal at Trindera Engineering. "Overall, we were interested in lighting areas that needed lighting."
Trindera partnered with Luminis, and created a lighting design to highlight the park's amenities, as well as its walkways and the Avista Grand Plaza. Chosen for its impressive LED light fixtures, Luminis not only provided durable and sustainable luminaires, the company also supplied its aluminum lighting poles with powder-coated wood grain to match the surrounding landscape.
"We chose Luminis because of the characteristics of the light fixtures and the aesthetics they provided," said Barker. "The LED luminaires are not only environmentally-friendly, they also look beautiful."
Trindera opted to use Luminis´ award-winning MayaLED series of luminaires, installing over 130 MayaLED MA14SH within the parking lot, down the Grand Plaza and along the roadways. Artfully blending aesthetics with optical performance and energy efficiency, the MayaLED light fixtures combine sleek design with consistent lighting performance for over 80,000 hours.
Additionally, along the walkways, the wood-finished aluminum pole luminaires light paths safely and efficiently while echoing the natural environment. Providing high-quality, consistent lighting, Luminis´ LED luminaires are sustainable and long lasting, making them a cost-effective and green lighting solution. The precise directional lighting offered by the chosen luminaires in McEuen Park ensures the surrounding dark sky and neighbouring areas are protected, while delivering the exact lighting levels necessary to light the way.
"We are ecstatic with the results," said Barker. "With Luminis´ help, McEuen Park has been transformed and the public response has been phenomenal. We couldn´t be more pleased."
