starry skies.jpg

This is a slide from James Lowenthal's 'light pollution' presentation to the Northampton City Council.

( James Lowenthal photo)

NORTHAMPTON - A group of city residents are pushing to curb light pollution in the city, asking officials to take steps to protect "the wonder of the starry night sky." Meanwhile, police chief Russell Sienkiewicz is skeptical of a proposed "lighting curfew," saying well-lit parking lots deter crime.

At last Thursday's City Council meeting, Smith College astronomy professor James Lowenthal presented a "starry skies" petition signed by 40 people. He said there are environmental, aesthetic, and public health problems with an over-lit city, and called for a new design approach to outdoor lighting.

He also spoke in favor of a proposed lighting curfew, where businesses would have to darken their parking lots late at night. That matter is currently before the City Council for discussion.

Excessive blue-spectrum light thrown upward disturbs bird migration, disrupts the Circadian rhythms of people trying to sleep, and can even cause cancer, said Lowenthal. He said the aesthetic value of requiring lights that are shielded on top, throwing light downward, can be significant, revealing the brilliance of the night sky to city residents. Outdoor lights should not be blue, but have a warmer tone, he said.

Lowenthal showed photos of garishly-lit parking lots on King Street, Village Hill, and Armory Street, saying the "cobra heads" at the city's Armory Street lot cast light that is "ugly, dangerous and wasteful."

"Decades of studies show no link between lighting and crime," said Lowenthal, asserting that the most dangerous cities in America, such as Little Rock, Philadelphia, and Newark, are all brightly lit.

Sienkiewicz, addressing the council, countered that lighting is an important tool in crime prevention. He said he had no problem with better lighting design standards, but could not support an ordinance calling for businesses to turn off their outdoor lights at night.

Sienkiewicz said lighting is universally acknowledged as a top crime-prevention tool, and serves five purposes: deterrence, detection, surveillance, fear reduction and liability reduction.

Video monitoring systems won't be effective in the darkness, said Sienkiewicz, and police in patrol cars wouldn't be able to see what's going in parking lots if they're dark. He asked councilors to imagine a "nurse or clerk working late at night" having to cross a darkened parking lot.

The council took no action on the issue of the proposed lighting curfew, and agreed to engage stakeholders, including members of the business community, for further discussion before moving forward.

Discussions about the city's lighting code are also ongoing, council president Bill Dwight said Monday.