The ball fields at Moscone Park were the recent recipients of a new lighting timer system that will enable remote adjustments to park lighting schedules so lights are not on when the fields are not in use. An Oct. 24 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the fields included a performance by cast members of Cirque du Soleil’s Totem.

The Musco Control-Link system allows the Recreation and Park Department to monitor and control park lighting by computer or phone, thereby eliminating the need for staff to travel field to field to turn lights on and off. Detailed lighting schedules can be created for specific needs, and last-minute schedule changes can be made more easily now.

District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell was on hand for the ribbon cutting, which was a bit of a homecoming. Farrell worked as a park director at the Moscone Recreation Center in the mid-1990s, and remembers having to turn the lights on and off by hand.

“After growing up playing on the baseball and basketball teams at Moscone for years, working at Moscone over the summers during college as a park director was an incredible experience,” said Farrell. “I’ll never forget turning off the big flood lights at night, and especially the few times I slipped and left them on all night – the neighbors were slightly upset! The staff we have at Moscone right now is incredible, and this new system will ensure not only that the city saves a significant amount of energy, but also gives the neighbors security that the lights will never be left on all night again.”

The lighting timer system is also installed at Jackson Ball Diamond at Carolina and 17th Streets and Lang Ball Diamond at Gough Street and Golden Gate Avenue. Each year the new timers are expected to save the city an estimated 132,050 kilowatt-hours in energy consumption, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 62.6 metric tons, and save taxpayers over $22,000 in energy costs.

The three-park system, valued at $31,875, was funded by an EcoAd grant made possible by Cirque du Soleil and an EcoMedia partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. When companies such as Cirque du Soleil advertise with EcoMedia, dollars go directly into environmental grants, thereby turning traditional television commercials, radio spots, online advertising, and outdoor billboards into funding for eco-friendly projects across the country.