Arlington Advocate
By Roberto Scalese
STAFF WRITER
Bright lights, big town.
The streets of Arlington are due for some major changes this fall, as the town prepares to replace all of the streetlights in Arlington. Doomed are the cobra-head mercury vapor lights that dominate the nights. In their places come high-pressure sodium lamps with shielded casings.
While the costs come up front, the town expects the change to pay for itself through lower utility bills within a year-and-a-half, according to a memorandum released by acting Town Manager Nancy Galkowski.
At the Monday Board of Selectmen meeting, Galkowski said using the 50-watt sodium lamps will provide more light at a cheaper rate for the town. The new casings will keep the light directed down at the street, which will help reduce glare and light pollution of the night sky.
"This is an extremely important project we are undertaking and it effects every citizen in town," said Galkowski.
The move to sodium is endorsed by Sustainable Arlington, an organization dedicated to helping the town become more environmentally friendly and efficient.
State Rep. Jim Marzilli, D-Arlington, is pleased with the development. Marzilli has for years advocated dark sky legislation, which would have cities and towns replace their light fixtures with similar, more economic and environmentally-friendlier fixtures.
"The legislation was added to the budget on the house side but a light company fought it and had it defeated in the Senate," said Marzilli. "By putting the light into a fixture, you are directing the light down where you need it to go and you end up needing a lower wattage."
The move makes economic sense, but some towns and companies do not want to spend the up-front cash to reap the savings, said Marzilli. The current fixtures lose light that beams out beside the fixture, lighting nothing and creating glare.
"Light is like salt. More is not always better," said Marzilli. Flood lights beside buildings, for example, are not always more effective than a directed light at a door or wall. "People think that adding more light makes things safer, but the glare can actually prevent you from seeing that guy in the bushes."
That glare makes changing the fixtures a safety issue, according to Marzilli. Glare from street lights can wash windshields in white, limiting visibility.
Sample lights are still up along Grey Street between Pleasant and Mount Vernon streets, and along Oak Hill Drive. The sodium lamps presented use various levels of wattage. Brighter lights will be used at larger intersections and at high-traffic locations.
Selectmen were generally supportive of the measure, although some concerns were expressed about the brightness at night.
"This is a bedroom community," said Selectman Charles Lyons. "Some of these lights are very bright for neighborhoods."
Selectman Kathy Dias, along with the other selectmen, asked for updates of public feedback as the new lights were installed.
"We need more feedback as we go along," said Dias.
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