The outside of D.C.’s Union Station could soon look brighter at night, under a plan that just won key approval.
The National Capital Planning Commission signed off Thursday on outdoor lighting enhancements intended to improve public safety, reduce energy use and make the station look nicer.
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The vote came after several tweaks were made to the plan.
Most notably, only white lights will be used outside the station, not colored ones as were suggested earlier.
“I think that was wise to ditch that,” said Commissioner Tammy Stidham, who called the current, overall lighting plan “exquisite.”
Other changes involved softening the lighting planned for the station’s facade and adding lighting to the sides of its barrel vault.
“I think both from a safety perspective, a beatification perspective, really however you look at it, this project is an absolute win,” Commission Chairman William Scharf said.
Doug Carr, president and CEO of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, said the goal is to start construction in the next couple months and possibly finish sometime next year.
Most of the written public comments the commission received about the project were in opposition, and concerned about the possible negative effect the new lighting could have on birds.
Brighter lighting is also planned inside Union Station, but that doesn’t have to be reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission.
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