Cathy, In my view the whole discussion about owls and lighting was a bogus smokescreen by people who just didn't want lighting on the bike path. Some of them might have lived near the bike path; but, as far as I can tell, and I ride that path often, none of the houses is as close to street lights (on virtually every street in the city, or at least the non-suburban sections such as our neighborhood) as, for instance, mine is. (The Gregory St. folks might have have a case, living downhill from the path for a short while.) As was suggested, if the lights shine in our bedrooms, we put up curtains and blinds. Who would live in Wisconsin and not cover windows at night in winter?
However, the city ignored the comments by bicyclists across the city and affected pedestrians and caved to the noisy minority whom, I suspect, mostly don't like bicycling as a transportation mode. I do recall several decades ago that people fought every bike path and bike path extension with the unspoken suggestion that only marauders and criminals would use the bike path. And, now as a result of the city's pandering to these anti-bicycling folks, we had this horrendous attack on a person who had the "nerve" to walk down a (bike) street at night. You probably can't argue that this attack couldn't have happened had there was better lighting, but it could have been a deterrent. We don't know how many collisions occur on the SW bike path that go unreported because they don't cause serious injuries or are just near misses. However, I happened to be riding on the SW path one night at exactly 11 p.m., and was thrust into total darkness when the lights shut off. As people who rode the path before the lights were installed know, this path was dangerous at night, especially with bikes with no lights and pedestrians, some of whom appear to have been drinking (walking two and three abreast). The lights were a godsend. The city bent over backwards to prevent lighting from going anywhere except directly over the path and did a good job, except . . . . the "owl bullies" persuaded them to shut the lights off at 11 p.m., as if nobody rides a bike or no one walks on the paths after 11 p.m.; the post-11 p.m. peds and bikes are probably more likely to have been drinking and engaging in unsafe walking on a shared use path. I think it is time to revisit the city's decision to turn the lights off at 11 p.m. If the city really can't afford the electricity and can't leave the lights on (my streetlights are on all night despite only having about 200-300 vehicles a day in a 24-hour period), then how about doing a count of peds and bikes on the bike paths? I suspect traffic lightens after 2 a.m or so, so if they really can't be on all night, the city could experiment by turning them off at 2 a.m. Recall, the city is still trying to get platinum status for its bicycling programs. When a city shuts lights off at 11 p.m., that is not platinum grade decision making I hope some alders and the mayor will take action to reverse the decision, universally opposed by the bicycling community, to darken the paths at 11 p.m. tim On Mon, Oct 5, 2015 at 12:51 PM, [email protected] [SASYNA-Discussions] <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Must we think in such stark polarities Tim? I ride bike, favor more > funds/resources going to non-car transportation, am concerned about > personal safety.... AND I love owls and dark skies. There is no reason > why we cant have all of these things. > > > The discussion should be more about what is good and effective lighting - > not "more" lighting or "less" lighting. It sounds like the city is on the > right track with the shielded cut-off fixtures being installed. The same > principles apply to both public and private lighting - people next to > streetlights should nt have to suffer excessive glare either. The > technology and knowledge exists to better direct it to where it is needed. > > > For anyone who's interested - this site has plethora of information - > including details re choosing dark sky friendly lighting and model dark sky > ordinances. http://darksky.org/ <http://darksky.org/fsa/> > > > Cathy on E Main St. > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: [email protected] > ------------------------------ > Reply via web post > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SASYNA-Discussions/conversations/messages/20507;_ylc=X3oDMTJwNDNsbzFpBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzUxNTc2MwRncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNDQ1NjEEbXNnSWQDMjA1MDcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxNDQ0MDY3NDk0?act=reply&messageNum=20507> > • Reply to sender > <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Owls%20vs%2E%20Rape%20%28was%20Bike%20Lights%2C%20etc%2E%29> > • Reply to group > <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Owls%20vs%2E%20Rape%20%28was%20Bike%20Lights%2C%20etc%2E%29> > • Start a New Topic > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SASYNA-Discussions/conversations/newtopic;_ylc=X3oDMTJkcDAyYXE3BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzUxNTc2MwRncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNDQ1NjEEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDbnRwYwRzdGltZQMxNDQ0MDY3NDk0> > • Messages in this topic > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SASYNA-Discussions/conversations/topics/20502;_ylc=X3oDMTM1aWM1NTVsBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzUxNTc2MwRncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNDQ1NjEEbXNnSWQDMjA1MDcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxNDQ0MDY3NDk0BHRwY0lkAzIwNTAy> > (3) > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SASYNA-Discussions/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJkOGlsYjB1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzUxNTc2MwRncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNDQ1NjEEc2VjA3Z0bARzbGsDdmdocARzdGltZQMxNDQ0MDY3NDk0> > > - New Members > > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SASYNA-Discussions/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcmtrZGZiBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzUxNTc2MwRncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNDQ1NjEEc2VjA3Z0bARzbGsDdm1icnMEc3RpbWUDMTQ0NDA2NzQ5NA--> > 2 > > [image: Yahoo! 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