Allegheny County has installed solar-powered lights in the county's two largest parks, North and South Park. The Solar Pathway Project is erecting lights across about a half-mile stretch of walking trail in each park, making it safer for walkers and runners to use the parks after sundown, especially during the winter months when the sun sets earlier.

"We think this will add a lot of benefit to park users," said Joel Perkovich, a landscape architect with Allegheny County. Perkovich explained how the light system works in a video on the county's Facebook page :

Each light has a large solar panel on the top of the light fixture to collect energy during the day. An LED light bulb underneath comes on when it gets dark, and is powered by the stored solar energy.

The lights have solar panels on the top and LED bulbs on the bottom.

Perkovich says the beauty of the system is that each light is self-contained, and doesn't require running any electrical lines to the lights, which would be time consuming and expensive. Plus it's eco-friendly.

"It's just another example of many of the measures we're taking in our park system to operate and maintain them more sustainably," explained Perkovich.

The lights will be great for people who like to jog and run in the early morning or after work.

Allegheny County has 9 public parks, covering more than twelve-thousand acres.

(Images & video: Allegheny County Facebook page )