Purpose and local context
This planning guide addresses temporary holiday lighting for Aurora medical campuses with a focus on patient-arrival routes, entrances, drop-off areas, parking circulation, and coordination with clinic schedules. It is written for planners working in the Denver/Colorado area who must integrate decorative, short-term lighting with operational needs at campus hospitals and clinics. The plan prioritizes unobstructed patient access, predictable traffic flow, and clear communication between installation teams and campus operations.
Map and route assessment
Begin by reviewing official campus maps and parking diagrams to identify primary patient-arrival routes, covered drop-off points, ambulance access lanes, and pedestrian pathways. For CU Anschutz campus layouts and lot details, consult the campus maps: https://www.cuanschutz.edu/offices/facilities-management/parking-transportation-maps/parking/campus-maps. Facility location pages, such as the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital site, clarify main entrance locations and approach roads: https://www.uchealth.org/locations/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch/. Children’s Hospital campus information can also inform pedestrian routing and visitor access: https://www.childrenscolorado.org/locations/anschutz-medical-campus-aurora/.
Protect patient access and clinical operations
Identify and mark zones where temporary lighting equipment, ladders, or vehicles must not block entrances, drop-off lanes, or emergency access. Plan installations to maintain clear sightlines for drivers and signage used for wayfinding. Coordinate proposed equipment staging so that it does not interfere with curbside queuing, shuttle stops, or pedestrian crossing points. If a planned activity could change traffic patterns, provide advance notice to clinic managers and parking operations so they can adjust arrival instructions for patients and visitors.
Schedule work around peak times
Create a property-scheduling plan that lists high-volume windows—early morning clinic starts, midday shifts, and late-afternoon outpatient departures—and identifies lower-impact windows for installation and removal. Consider evening hours for decorative lighting activation when patient volumes are lower, while ensuring that setup and teardown do not occur during high-arrival periods. Coordinate closely with campus parking and transportation teams to confirm where staging or temporary access will be acceptable.
Site conditions, electrical, and routing
Survey site conditions such as tree canopies, irrigation, underground utilities, and existing signage that could affect mounting locations and cable routing. Confirm whether electrical circuits or temporary power sources exist near the intended areas and plan cable runs to avoid pedestrian paths and drive lanes. If work will cross sidewalks or curbs, plan protected cable pathways and clear markings so foot traffic is not impeded.
Communication and contingency planning
Circulate the installation schedule, a site plan, and contact points to clinic leadership, parking operations, and facilities staff at least two weeks before installation. Include a day-of coordination contact for each stakeholder group. Prepare contingency plans for schedule changes, event conflicts, or unexpected access constraints; communicate any adjustments promptly to minimize disruption to patient arrivals.
Documentation and closeout
Document pre-install site conditions, routing decisions, and any approvals or access arrangements. At project closeout, restore all paths, signage, and curbside zones to their original condition and confirm with campus operations that the area is returned to regular service. Maintain records of communications and the final layout to support future seasonal planning efforts.
Create a day-of coordination record
Before the selected work window, the property contact can share one concise coordination record with the installation team. List the arrival entrance, visitor-parking guidance, crew staging location, each building contact, and the order in which zones will be addressed. Add any clinic-period notes that the property team wants the crew to consider, then confirm the planned removal date in the same record. This provides a practical reference for keeping the temporary display conversation aligned with the campus schedule.
Create a day-of coordination record
Before the selected work window, the property contact can share one concise coordination record with the installation team. List the arrival entrance, visitor-parking guidance, crew staging location, each building contact, and the order in which zones will be addressed. Add any clinic-period notes that the property team wants the crew to consider, then confirm the planned removal date in the same record. This provides a practical reference for keeping the temporary display conversation aligned with the campus schedule.
