In an effort to increase foot traffic and to attract potential customers, council members have decided to extend tree-lighting services from three to seven days of the week, to be in effect throughout the year.

This is what many merchants have been longing to hear since the city decided to reduce the original weeklong tree-lighting plan, implemented by a local property owner in 1993, to three days due to the energy crisis and rolling blackouts that affected homes and businesses throughout the summer of 2000.

"Lights make a statement," said Donna Collins, owner of Henrietta Hens and originator of the tree-lighting idea. "They make this town look and feel safer. They make the town look alive."

Collins said that one of the benefits of having the lights stay on during weeknights is that it allows people who do stay out late a chance to window-shop after business hours and encourages them to come back during the daytime, when stores are open.

"I've had patrons who come back the next day to buy something they saw while window-shopping or to simply browse around. They actually do come back," she said.

Collins said that leaving the lights on during the week will boost traffic tremendously.

"We'll be busy every month of the year and not just the holiday season, when the lights are on all week," she said. "By this time next year, this place will be hoppin'."

Sophie Maddix and Denise Thompson, co-owners of Studio 67, said that seven-day tree lighting would not only attract more shoppers in the area, it would hopefully bring new retail businesses into the village. Most of the businesses now are either restaurants or service-oriented stores, which tend to stay open later.

Maddix added that she would consider extending her clothing store's closing hour of 6 p.m. to a later time, depending on the flow of traffic.

The lights, which are on all 98 trees along Big Basin Way, will light up from sunset to 11 p.m., similar to the downtown areas in Campbell, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Los Gatos.

Under the seven-day plan, the cost of keeping the lights on would be $6,236 per year [a rate of $3.33 per hour], more than double the cost of the three-day plan. An additional $5,000 would be needed for ongoing quarterly maintenance and lighting supplies.

The money needed to keep the lights on will come from a combination of city funds and funds from the Landscape and Lighting District.

According to the city's economic development coordinator, Danielle Surdin, decorative tree lighting would be curtailed or put back to three days a week if the state enters a stage two or stage three energy alert.

"Downtown Saratoga is a great place to shop and to walk around," said Tracy Sanders, who walks her dog frequently in the area. "Hopefully these lights will encourage people to stay out later and hang out more often. It's time we liven up the nightlife."