Omaha's "String of Pearls"

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:14 pm

The hail storm the other night destroyed many of the "String of Pearls" lights. Apparently it will cost 500K to replace and the WOWT boards are going wild at the thought of replacing them.

Post by **Brad** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:39 am

String of Pearls to shine on Buffett crowd

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120207/N ... fett-crowd

Juan Perez Jr. WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The damaged fixtures will be replaced with energy-saving LED bulbs — a change that officials say could save up to $150,000 in annual energy costs. The city hopes to replace all the string's bulbs with LED technology within five years.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:10 pm

I laugh every time I see those words...

Laugh.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:21 pm

All snarkiness aside, why has it taken 6 months to repair these light fixtures that line Omaha's front door?

Post by **Brad** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:22 pm

nativeomahan wrote:All snarkiness aside, why has it taken 6 months to repair these light fixtures that line Omaha's front door?

If I remember right they were a custom order and they are being upgraded to more energy efficient LED lights.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:15 pm

On my trip to the airport last weekend, they looked just as broken as the day after the storm. I guess the parts must still be on order?

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:31 am

They are almost all repaired. I drove the route on April 24 and there were only a few dozen broken fixtures left, and repair crews were at work as I drove by.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:10 am

Wow, I must have missed that. I left town on the 22nd and it seemed like quite a few were still broken. At that rate, they'll be finished pretty soon.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:57 pm

Omaha's 'Pearls' shine again

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120429/N ... hine-again

Juan Perez Jr. WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The “String of Pearls” lining Abbott Drive are glowing again, just in time to welcome Berkshire Hathaway shareholders arriving in Omaha this week.

Finishing touches on the set of lights along Abbott Drive were largely completed last week, said City Traffic Engineer Todd Pfitzer.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:19 pm

They have got to stop calling this string of pearls. They might as well change the name of Gene Leahy Mall to Cream Pie Park.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:40 pm

In Seattle the babe is also lined with a string of pearls.

http://ridetheslut.com/

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:12 am

I flew in last night and several of them were still dark.

In fact, I considered the streets in the Eppley area to be poorly lit!

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Fri May 04, 2012 7:27 am

Every city should welcome tourists with a pearl necklace...

cdub · Post by **cdub** » Fri May 04, 2012 8:13 am

Omababe wrote:I flew in last night and several of them were still dark.

In fact, I considered the streets in the Eppley area to be poorly lit!

Thats why we have headlights. Seriously though Id be curious to know which ones you thought were too dark. The lighting scheme on Abbott is silly. Even without any of the globes working the hockey pucks provide continuous light along the stretch. When you put the two together its so overlit its absurd. Even without the pucks, the globes are too close together.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Fri May 04, 2012 8:42 pm

cdub wrote:The lighting scheme on Abbott is silly. Even without any of the globes working the hockey pucks provide continuous light along the stretch. When you put the two together its so overlit its absurd. Even without the pucks, the globes are too close together.

I agree. I like the rows of globes, but it just looks silly to have them next to to ordinary streetlights, especially when both of them are spaced so close.

Omaha_Gabe · Post by **Omaha_Gabe** » Sat May 05, 2012 12:37 am

Seth wrote:
cdub wrote:The lighting scheme on Abbott is silly. Even without any of the globes working the hockey pucks provide continuous light along the stretch. When you put the two together its so overlit its absurd. Even without the pucks, the globes are too close together.
I agree. I like the rows of globes, but it just looks silly to have them next to to ordinary streetlights, especially when both of them are spaced so close.

Agreed.... I have seen them in another city, although i cant think of where at the moment but the string of pearls was more of an accent with blue/purple lighting

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon May 07, 2012 9:09 am

cdub wrote:Seriously though Id be curious to know which ones you thought were too dark.

It just seems like whenever I fly in at 0-dark-hundred and eventually get out of the long term lot, it seems DARK along Abbott Drive, particularly the left turn from the south long term lot onto southbound Abbott. I'm always afraid I'm gonna run into a median section or get in the wrong lane.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 5:24 pm

117 globes broken...again.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:20 pm

iamjacobm wrote:117 globes broken...again.

I thought they replaced then with plastic? Do the globes in Dubdee break like this all the time?

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:58 pm

They said it would cost around $200k and not get done before the CWS.

cdub · Post by **cdub** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:20 am

Take em out!!

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:22 am

I like the lights and think they look very nice coming in from Eppley, but maybe they can look to see if there is a light that would better withstand hail. I just can't see how they can keep replacing these every 2-3 years. With all the technology and different styles of lighting fixtures available, there has got to be something that is better.

Bugeater · Post by **Bugeater** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 10:50 pm

Brad wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:117 globes broken...again.
I thought they replaced then with plastic? Do the globes in Dubdee break like this all the time?

I rode my bike down Abbott Dr the day after that storm and checked out the debris on the ground from them and they were some type of hard plastic.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:32 pm

Does anyone know if these have been fixed yet? It has been three months.

Omaha_Gabe · Post by **Omaha_Gabe** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:51 pm

Nope.... just came from the airport this evening

2Adam29 · Post by **2Adam29** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:35 am

I'll Just leave this here...

Post by **Brad** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:49 am

City is on the road to a more durable String of Pearls

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/city-is ... d5669.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jessica Gibbs World-Herald staff writer wrote:He expects repairs to begin by late November, and to be completed within 30 days.

Jessica Gibbs World-Herald staff writer wrote:Two main decisions have been made about the replacement. After testing multiple products, the city selected polycarbonate material to replace the globes. It’s a material roughly 200 times stronger than glass.

The city also plans to replace all of the bulbs with LED lights. Discussions about LED lights began after a 2011 storm, Koti said. Those damaged lights were replaced with LED bulbs, resulting in a 60 to 70 percent reduction in energy costs.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:38 am

Good to hear.

threeoutside · Post by **threeoutside** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:11 am

I'm arriving late to this discussion, but one thing struck me: Why don't they *already* have "hats" over the top - hasn't anyone in this city ever heard of light pollution? Cities all over the globe are capping their street lights to curb light pollution. Seems to me caps would solve two problems - broken "pearls" and light pollution from that set of lights.

bigredmed · Post by **bigredmed** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:48 pm

threeoutside wrote:I'm arriving late to this discussion, but one thing struck me: Why don't they *already* have "hats" over the top - hasn't anyone in this city ever heard of light pollution? Cities all over the globe are capping their street lights to curb light pollution. Seems to me caps would solve two problems - broken "pearls" and light pollution from that set of lights.

They would also make them not look like a string of pearls anymore.

Besides, the photopollution from them is only a small part of the photopollution from Eppley and from the Clink, and the Bob.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:12 am

Voting on spending a little over $90K for replacement bulbs next week.

threeoutside · Post by **threeoutside** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:31 pm

bigredmed wrote:Besides, the photopollution from them is only a small part of the photopollution from Eppley and from the Clink, and the Bob.

I'm sorry, I'm not in the In Crowd; what are the Clink and the Bob?

Post by **Brad** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:32 pm

threeoutside wrote:I'm sorry, I'm not in the In Crowd; what are the Clink and the Bob?

Clink = CenturyLink Center Omaha
Bob = Bob Kerry Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:55 pm

bigredmed wrote:
threeoutside wrote:I'm arriving late to this discussion, but one thing struck me: Why don't they *already* have "hats" over the top - hasn't anyone in this city ever heard of light pollution? Cities all over the globe are capping their street lights to curb light pollution. Seems to me caps would solve two problems - broken "pearls" and light pollution from that set of lights.
They would also make them not look like a string of pearls anymore.

Besides, the photopollution from them is only a small part of the photopollution from Eppley and from the Clink, and the Bob.

Unfortunately, people were/are so smitten and bedazzled by the name "String of Pearls" that we're stuck with them now, even though there are many other aesthetically pleasing light fixtures available that don't contribute so much to light pollution. But realistically, I agree it is a small part of the overall problem.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 3:09 pm

From Mayor Stothert's fb page:

Many of you have asked about replacing the string of pearls along Abbott Drive. Most of the globes shattered during a hail storm earlier this year. The new globes will be delivered and installed in January. The new globes are made of polycarbonate, 200 times stronger than glass.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:26 pm

Anybody know if 200x is enough? I am no physics major, so this is purely out of curiosity.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:39 am

Kiewit Foundation giving the city a $50K grant for the repairs.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 1:42 pm

After a long break from air travel, I few out of Eppley last weekend and on the drive, my wife noticed all the broken globes. We couldn't remember if they were recent, or leftover from the 2012 storm.

After 5 years here in Omaha, I've kind of become accustomed to seeing the broken globes and malfunctioning lights on the Bob pylons. It's almost part of the city's character

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:46 pm

Seth wrote:After a long break from air travel, I few out of Eppley last weekend and on the drive, my wife noticed all the broken globes. We couldn't remember if they were recent, or leftover from the 2012 storm.

After 5 years here in Omaha, I've kind of become accustomed to seeing the broken globes and malfunctioning lights on the Bob pylons. It's almost part of the city's character :;):

They look sad during the day when I keep having to drive to the Open Door Mission.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 3:16 pm

Seth wrote:After a long break from air travel, I few out of Eppley last weekend and on the drive, my wife noticed all the broken globes. We couldn't remember if they were recent, or leftover from the 2012 storm.

After 5 years here in Omaha, I've kind of become accustomed to seeing the broken globes and malfunctioning lights on the Bob pylons. It's almost part of the city's character :;):

The current damage is from the 2014 storm in June. They recently had an article in the paper stating that they should be repaired this spring with globes that will be much stronger than glass.