KVBID looking to light up Alii Drive

The Kailua Village Business Improvement District is looking to shed a little strategically placed light along Alii Drive.

“We’d like to make sure the historic icons in the village stand out,” Executive Director Debbie Baker said. “We have historically important buildings, particularly the church steeple.”

KVBID officials issued a request for qualifications, seeking professional light designers for a new lighting project within the district. The project has a $10,000 budget, and qualifications are due by Dec. 1. Lighting project goals include increasing pedestrian activity, safety and security, creating a sense of drama, serving as a traffic calming device, defining and identifying the public space in the village.

Baker said KVBID officials also want to keep light pollution and green lighting standards in mind when the new system is designed.

“Evening light can have a transformational effect on the appearance and safety of how a sidewalk, street and village are perceived and used,” officials said in announcing the request for qualifications. “Certainly nighttime visibility is important for security and safety, but beyond that a great lighting plan relates to all evening functions and echoes a sense of place.”

The district’s core is Alii Drive between Palani and Walua roads.

Interested light designers should submit their proposed project approach, professional qualifications, work experiences and references, as well as a fee and defined scope of services, to Baker via email, at kailuavillage@gmail.com.