I LOVE CHANGE, CHANGE FOR THE BETTER THAT IS. IS THIS A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER? ARE WE COMMITTED TO THE NEW STREET LIGHTS? HOW DO YOU FEEL LEDÂ LIGHTS WILL AFFECT THE QUALITYÂ OF YOUR LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHETHER 4000K OR 3000K OR NO CHANGE?
Two variations on LED streetlights being considered by the city have been set up for evaluation. The test installations are the first four lights on the west side of Washington Street just south of Gee Avenue.There are two types, rated at 3,000 degrees Kelvin and 4,000 degrees Kelvin. The “color” of the light is slightly different between the two types.
People concerned about light pollution and the effect of the lights on wildlife have been advocating for the 3,000K lights. Send your comments to Matt Coogan in the City’s Planning Department. His email address is:
MCoogan@gloucester-ma.gov
Above image courtesy google image search.
Map courtesy Paul Morrison via FB
Ruining That Moody Urban Glow
OCT. 17, 2015
…In interviews with the media, my fellow experimental subjects have compared the nighttime environment under the new streetlights to a film set, a prison yard, “a strip mall in outer space” and “the mother ship coming in for a landing” in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Although going half-blind at 58, I can read by the beam that the new lamp blasts into our front room without tapping our own Con Ed service. Once the LEDs went in, our next-door neighbor began walking her dog at night in sunglasses.
Medical research has firmly established that blue-spectrum LED light can disrupt sleep patterns. This is the same illumination that radiates in far smaller doses from smartphone and computer screens, to which we’re advised to avoid exposure for at least an hour before bed, because it can suppress the production of melatonin. The tribute to “the city that never sleeps” was meant to celebrate a vibrant cultural night life — not a town of hollow-eyed “Walking Dead” insomniacs.
While the same light has also been associated with increased risk of breast cancer and mood disorders, in all honesty my biggest beef with LEDs has nothing to do with health issues. These lights are ugly. They’re invasive. They’re depressing. New York deserves better.
Good Morning Gloucester 