Let There Be Lights

[Gannon]

Here is the most significant part of the article:

The American Medical Association warning raised several health concerns that may result from high-color temperature LED lights. Over time, glare from the lights may cause eye damage and distorted vision, while high levels of blue light in LEDs may stunt circadian rhythms. Sleep issues could bring a host of other problems, including depression and obesity, according to the association.


Marked by their bright white appearance, high-color temperature LEDs may distract drivers, particularly those who are elderly.

[Jimaz]

... Over time, glare from the lights may cause eye damage and distorted vision, while high levels of blue light in LEDs may stunt circadian rhythms. Sleep issues could bring a host of other problems, including depression and obesity, according to the association....

This might be an opportunity for some entrepreneur to come out with a line of sunmoonglasses that filter out the harmful wavelengths.

Astronomers use filters that block light pollution wavelengths. Those are pretty expensive though.

[JBMcB]

Those three antennae boxes are for WiFi - you use three for a phase array to boost range.

ShotSpotter looks like this:

That's an array microphone on top of a unidirectional microwave antenna. The array microphone is the key here, as you can't make them small. There's always going to be a big round thing in any directional sound detection system.

[Wesley Mouch]

So now someone's decided that a some LED lights are evil. Sure. Let's return to the wonderful days of MERCURY vapor. It was perfection! Isn't anybody happy with anything? Is everything bad for you?

I think this is all brought to us by the same people who decided salt was bad... until it wasn't. No pig fat... makes you fat.... oops. Global Cooling is a major problem.... oops, I mean warming.... oops I mean Climate Change.

But seriously folks... I'm sure that some new LED lights aren't the best possible, but we really need to stop nit-picking each and every single decision, and painting it as a public health hazard.

The only real healthy alternative is NO STREET LIGHTS at all, and a granola bar.

[Honky Tonk]

So now someone's decided that a some LED lights are evil. Sure. Let's return to the wonderful days of MERCURY vapor. It was perfection! Isn't anybody happy with anything? Is everything bad for you?

I think this is all brought to us by the same people who decided salt was bad... until it wasn't. No pig fat... makes you fat.... oops. Global Cooling is a major problem.... oops, I mean warming.... oops I mean Climate Change.

But seriously folks... I'm sure that some new LED lights aren't the best possible, but we really need to stop nit-picking each and every single decision, and painting it as a public health hazard.

The only real healthy alternative is NO STREET LIGHTS at all, and a granola bar.

I'm not so sure about the granola:

https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/p...a-healthy-food

[Wesley Mouch]

I'm not so sure about the granola:

https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/p...a-healthy-food

My tongue was in my cheek as I wrote that, because I knew that Granola is as bad for you as Lard, in the eyes of those who know what's good for us.

[[Don't get me started on the obsession with 'healthy' food, and the culture of snobbishness associated thereto.)

[Gistok]

Don't get me started on the obsession with 'healthy' food, and the culture of snobbishness associated thereto.)

Amen to that.... we still remember the Flint water discussion.....

[G-DDT]

I invite all of you who have no problem with "glaring lights" to take a drive down Warren Rd. near Dearborn [[from Wyoming on to Inkster should do). There are "businesses" that like to push the envelope and "trick" out their lighting well past what we were all used to in the roaring 20's on with a much more subdued neon lights. These lights are indisputably GLARING [[there is a company specializing in them on Telegraph) and hazardously distracting; yet, some businesses feel they got to wrap these lights around every dang edge and trim of their exterior building [[one residence in Dearborn, I believe it is either Nona or Beech St., decided to wrap it's front windows and doorframe with the whitest and brightest version of them). Worse, are those kinetic screen signs that incessantly glow.

While you are taking your trip around Warren, stop in front of any given building with said lights and/or kinetic sign [[yes, some have both!) and take a moment to look at the residential dwelling located directly behind them. Look at how the house is-not bathed, mind you, but-absolutely drowning in the unnatural light coming off of those eyesores. Right there. On the building-going right into someone's window. Ask yourself if you'd like to be the "lucky" person living next to such crud.

I'm aware that this is a discussion about street lights, but there are classifiable eyesores out there [[many posters seem to think it's the many Detroit art murals that should be labeled as such-as if they are the real imposition-as if many of these Oakland/Macomb dwellers genuinely and frequently come into Wayne County just to be shocked and assaulted by the very presence of murals in certain areas like Eastern Market, Michigan Ave., or Grand River.). Light [[and glaring light, especially-seeing as some headlights on newer cars have gotten unavoidably worse) can be a contributing factor in "visual pollution ".

It's so very odd how a prominent topic like sight pollution-and the adverse psychological effects it causes over a matter of time-brought up significantly with much research to back it for over three decades would suddenly stop being brought up in the 80's. My generation was taught in school about "sight and sound pollution" and the dangers they pose in the 80's. This wasn't a "new whim of crack science". Granted we weren't affluent enough to have newer text books that white-wash the issue, but the ones we had from the 60's and 70's seemed to have done an adequate job in addressing the matter.

Me, personally, I like the warm and subdued High Pressure Sodium dealie-doos. Yet, I guess nothing affects nothing, right? Especially if your are a fact-fracturing conservo-corporate investor astro-turfer posioning the wells on on Reddit or DY [[and remember just saying something "is what it is" and not backing it up with a lick of evidence makes it so-right?-looking your way, Trump supporters.). Global warming doesn't exist [[just like when the Detroit News swore asbestos wasn't a threat in the mid-80's) and Flint's water is as safe a dolphin sweat-right?

Yet, what right do I have to speak? I'm a "crunchy kid". Yeah, one of those granola-munchers [[who strangely enough doesn't show his age-I'm often mistaken for being in my "late 20's" by-oh, just about everyone.). Not that eating granola is a lofty diet of the affluent-just that of the consumer with a wiser awareness. And my evidence for all I ranted above?-the comparisons based on what we were once taught in school, the comparisons of health-dismissals coming from Detroit News HQ as it may still be applied to newer topics of a similar nature [[some folks just never learn), and the prescription I made in taking an experimental roadtrip through that stretch of road what I dub "Monstrosity Mile"

[[P.S.-my brother brought up the good point as to why such businesses need such gaudy lights on incessantly at night for being businesses open only during the day, and furthermore, is it scientifically proven that such lights do actually improve business.)

[G-DDT]

To stay closer to topic, here is an article about how one community feels about these streetlightshttp://gothamist.com/2016/05/14/the_...se_blindin.php. I, for one, am greatly affected by lighting. I'd hate to have to look in my kid's room and see some sickly, unnatural glow blaring through their windows.

[royce]

Personally I prefer what I call the "Chicago" street light. The lights you experience in Chicago have this "beige" hue. Gratiot had these south of Harper. North of Harper you had the "blue" light. This new LED "blue" light is brighter and does take some getting used to. The reality is that few of us are on the roads at night for long periods of time and so I don't see where these new lights are going to create a new health issue.

[bust]

They recently installed new LED streetlights where I live, and the thing people are most unhappy about is the way the light shines brightly into windows. The lights they replaced didn't do that as much, and they produced an orangeish light that was less distracting. The proximity of our apartment to a streetlight makes it among the ones most affected. Ever since the new streetlights arrived our thin curtains we use for privacy aren't enough and we pull shades down to keep the light out at night. Fortunately we don't sleep there.

It seems like big improvements could be made with better design. Some combination of the following [[some have been said before):

1) LEDs are highly directional; design the LED arrays to more appropriately aim at the streets and sidewalks, not the nearby buildings;
2) Dim the LEDs in the arrays that point toward nearby windows, or add a diffuser to accomplish the same;
3) Use LEDs that produce a warmer color temperature of light.

I'm sure LEDs consume less energy. We'll have to see if they last long enough to also save money. And the streets are brighter. Yet somehow I'm not sure if I can actually see better in their brighter light. Maybe it was easy for my eyes to adjust to the softer light from the lights they replaced. Or maybe there's something to the possibility the color or the directional quality of this LED light doesn't result in improved visibility, despite its brightness. Or maybe it's just too hard for me to tell.

In any case, it's great the city is providing light where it was lacking. And maybe they're better designed.

[belleislerunner]

I actually find the "glaring" lights rather appealing. They provide some color and charm to an otherwise dreary streetscape in the fall/winter.

They are pretty common along Eight Mile, the Dearborn area, even Jefferson and a few others use them now. Pretty popular with liquor stores, gas stations, weed shops. Count me in their fan club.

[313WX]

The concern on residential streets has not been light pollution, but poor lighting.

Many areas are darker than they were before the LED transition.

[G-DDT]

The concern on residential streets has not been light pollution, but poor lighting.

Many areas are darker than they were before the LED transition.

By laws of polarized contrast, stronger glaring light can make heavier shadows.

If there were only a way to diffuse it all or put [[heh-heh) track lighting [[like the kind they used to use at the Northland Hudson's) everywhere above the city.

[gnome]

The issue of contrast was one of the main complaints against the old carbon arc moonlight towers. I guess everything old is new again, history's repeating.

i find this a curious complaint as it is seemingly fixable. LEDs, in contrast to carbon arcs, don't come in only one flavor of kelvin. 6500k+ is a light that so bright that the shadows appear exceptionally dark.

Dark as pitch.

In truth, the object in shadow is no darker than when the street was lit by Mercury or sodium vapor; however, our brains have a hard time dealing with the stark contrast.

The solution is to buy an LED with a lower kelvin rating.

I pefer something around 2700 to 3000 degrees kelvin it is a pleasant, warmish light that is soothing and is usually advertised as soft-white.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Hola Gnome! So grand to hear from you!!

[gnome]

^^^ Hola Gnome! So grand to hear from you!!

Nice to see you too. Missed you.

[wazootyman]

I pefer something around 2700 to 3000 degrees kelvin it is a pleasant, warmish light that is soothing and is usually advertised as soft-white.

I, too, would prefer this. I'm a huge stickler for color temp [[2700 K to 3500 K in all cases in my home) and CRI [[color rendering index). For street lights, the latter doesn't matter so much [[beyond a point anyhow).

As an aside, I ran the [[half) marathon this morning, and very much noticed the improvement in light along Fort. Looks like all new light poles. I seem to recall that stretch being very dark in past years [[since we run by at about 7 - 7:30 am). The only thing I didn't like was the wires strung along the top. But I would guess this is to a) deter scrapping and b) it's cheaper than underground conduit work.