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# FLASHING LIGHTS This past week, Q-line asked
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/flashing-lights-this-past-week-q-line-asked/
- Published: 2008-06-28T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:00:10.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pier, #archive-import

While the new Pacific Wheel at Pacific Park has been widely celebrated as a vast improvement over the old wheel there are some that feel the lighting design is a tad too much. Is the new Ferris wheel too bright or just right?

Here are your responses: “THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE Ferris wheel, but I think it should be replaced by a big catapult. The catapult would be able to swing people off the pier so others wouldn’t have to wait for them to get off the ride.”

“AMUSEMENT PARKS, GAMBLING Meccas, and the bright lights of New York City’s Broadway intentionally glisten with magnificent luster. It is the ambiance of those beautiful entertainment locations. The beautiful bright lights of the Santa Monica Pier’s Ferris wheel provide a beacon for ships at sea, aircraft, and landfolks alike. Best of all, the price for visually observing the wheel’s brilliant spectrum of colors is free.”

“I THINK THAT THE FERRIS WHEEL IS absolutely wonderful. It is a star attraction. On Sunday it was just great to go on Main Street and still be able to see the beautiful Ferris wheel. It was absolutely marvelous.”

“EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PIER IS A joke: The cheap movies, the bad music, the sad rides, the dining, the smell, and most of all, the Ferris wheel. It represents the east coast liberal bias in this town as well as Coney Island fakeness. It’s at a cost of over $1 million, which only goes to support wood rot and large salaries. The only redeeming factor is that the Ferris wheel uses 60 percent less energy. What about an energy neutral lighting idea? We should get bicycles to hook them up to the wheel to generate electricity. We could draft all the eco-patriots of the city to pedal enough energy to light the wheel. The governor says we are all too fat and out of shape girly men. Here is the chance for all of our leaders to get in shape and put their pedaling where there eco-mouth is and shave that half billion dollar budget.”

“I THINK THE LIGHTS ARE WAY TOO bright. I think we need to think of issues regarding environmental protection and the night sky. From an aesthetic point of view, I don’t think the images represent Santa Monica, but instead represent a honky-town place instead of a fun, beach resort. I hope the lights are turned way down. I also hope the pier also comes up with different images that are not as flashy, but relaxed and slower, as is appropriate for a beach resort and the entire Santa Monica community.”

“I LIVE RIGHT AT THE BEACH AND I USED to love the Ferris wheel, but I hate the new one. I feel the lights are much too bright, change patterns much too quickly, and are too enamored with their own ability to create useless patterns. I wish the old one stayed.”

“I LOOK AT THE WHEEL EVERYDAY FROM my apartment in Santa Monica. I think it looks fine and is a vast improvement over the prior one. I do see some people who think it is a tad too bright; however, I don’t share that opinion. They probably have that opinion because they live very close to it, but I live further south and I think it looks OK.”

“I THINK THE LIGHTS ARE FINE, BUT THE subjects portrayed are too random. The lights should be more natural and reflect the pier, marine life, and Santa Monica itself. I think pictures of fish or sailboats would be better, and not so random.”

“THE FERRIS WHEEL LIGHT SCENE should reflect more of Santa Monica. The lights should be of the waves, the beaches, the dolphins, or the palm trees, so visitors can see what Santa Monica is really like.”

“I DO NOT FEEL THAT THE LIGHTING design is a tad too much or any less tasteful than the previous lighting design. The fact that it is more energy efficient is a plus, too. I think it is a great feature that Santa Monica has over other areas.”

“SADLY, I BELIEVE THAT THE NEW Ferris wheel is much too bright and a big distraction. The old wheel cast a lovely light across the pier and the ocean, but the new one is so bright and outrageous that it is actually painful to look at, causing me to wince and look away. Perhaps the lights could be turned down, but either way we lost what was really a lovely sight.”

“I’M FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE to see the pier every night. I used to look at the first Ferris wheel with pleasure, and I still look at the new one because it’s out there, but now with my periphery because it is not as pleasant to look at.”

“I THINK THE NEW LIGHTS ARE JUST fantastic and a great attraction for both the young and old, especially visitors who come from out of state.”

“I DO AGREE THAT THE NEW WHEEL lights seem a tad too bright, but I’m still very anxious to see what they do on the 4th of July.”

“I THINK THE NEW FERRIS WHEEL IS absolutely beautiful. I love all the patterns and colors, and the fact that I can walk by the pier and constantly watch the patterns change.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 28, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)