Town and WREA begin installation of 130 LED downtown outdoor street lighting luminaires.
It’s been a long time coming, but with the replacement of the downtown street light fixtures, Meeker is one step closer to being “dark sky-friendly.” (Left) The old fixtures cast an eerie green glow on night photos. (Right) The new LED fixtures send light down to illuminate sidewalks and streets, but keep light from streaming upward. The new fixtures were purchased with grant funding, and installed by the Town of Meeker public utilities staff and White River Electric Association staff. The replacement project is nearly complete throughout town. CAITLIN WALKER PHOTOS
MEEKER | The Town of Meeker and White River Electric Association (WREA) have begun installation of 130 dark sky friendly light-emitting diode (LED) street and sidewalk lighting luminaires in the downtown business and National Historic District to replace the 39-year-old obsolete mercury vapor “acorn globe“ luminaires mounted on antique poles.
The obsolete luminaires are being replaced with high efficiency 3000 degree Kelvin (warm white color) luminaires. The project includes outdoor lighting from Third to Seventh Streets on Main Street, and from Fourth street to Sixth Street on Park Avenue. Also included are luminaires mounted on poles from Park Street to Market Street on Fifth and Sixth Streets and two on Garfield Street at the School Administration building.
The Dark Sky International Association (IDA) in collaboration with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) initiated an international campaign in the 1980’s to educate lighting designers, manufacturers, governments, and the public of the need to design, manufacture, and utilize only IDA-approved full cutoff outdoor luminaires using high efficacy LED warm white light lamps installed with full cutoff optics to minimize light pollution. As revealed in photos of the earth from the international space station, light pollution is rampant in developed nations due to long-standing and inappropriate overuse of outdoor artificial lighting.
The photometric design of the luminaires is known as full “cutoff” which hides the source LED light engine from view. Consequently, light is directed downward to the sidewalk and street producing no disability glare, light trespass and skyglow from light previously directed up into the night sky and clouds.
Light color is also very important. A 3000-degree Kelvin color temperature is equivalent to a standard tungsten filament lamp bulb commonly used for decades and is the least harmful color for outdoor lighting to lessen skyglow. Astronomers greatly appreciate this as they can filter out monochromatic yellow light when observing celestial bodies.
How does the human eye respond to outdoor artificial lighting?
Vision is quite similar to the optics of a video camera. When a source of light enters the eye through the lens it passes through the pupil which adjusts to the intensity, then the lens, and is projected onto the retina where an image is transmitted by the optic nerve to the brain for interpretation. The iris responds to the highest luminous intensity source of light and adjusts. If the source is a light engine that is brighter than what is being illuminated, vision will be diminished (e.g., if you are driving on a highway facing a setting sun, you may miss seeing a deer crossing the road or an oncoming vehicle near your traffic lane).
What is the impact of outdoor lighting on human health, wildlife, and more?
Dark Sky International shares that a growing body of evidence links the brightening night sky directly to measurable negative impacts on:
• Wildlife and ecosystems
• Human health
• Energy and climate change
• Crime and safety
• Night sky heritage
How did the Dark Sky lighting project for Meeker originate?
In 1985, the Town Trustees were approached by State Government to replace the 1950’s era mercury vapor street lamps with “a more appropriate antique style luminaire.” Professor Ronald Helms, Ph.D. of the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Engineering Illuminating Engineering Department proposed one of the first dark sky friendly cutoff luminaire systems using rectilinear cutoff metal halide luminaire systems. However the Town chose to implement the acorn globe mercury vapor system which had no cutoff luminaire photometrics. Moreover, the mercury vapor lamps created a greenish blue light which distorted paint colors, skin tones, foliage and caused sky glow, light trespass and disability glare.
During the 2021 Meeker Moving Forward seminars, a proposal was adopted to renovate the downtown outdoor street lighting which was included in the plan.
Since that time, proposals were made to replace the acorn globe obsolete system but the cost would have been approximately $150,000. In 2022, the town budgeted $200,000 for a retrofit dark sky friendly LED replacement system. Then in December the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) opened Community Revitalization grants for outdoor street lighting and other improvements. The Town Trustees approved an application and Town Administrator Mandi Etheridge working with WREA staff to develop Dark Sky project specifications, submitted an application. In September of 2023. CDOT awarded a grant for the lighting project. Bids for the project were received and in November the bid was awarded to Logiq Lighting systems.
130 Amerlux luminaures arrived in March and installation has begun under the guidance of Logiq Lighting Engineer Kale LaCroux, in collaboration with Town utility staff and WREA.
What are the benefits of Dark Sky Friendly Lighting for the community?
The Dark Sky International Association Colorado Chapter, in collaboration with the Colorado Tourism Office and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) have sponsored Mentorship programs initially in 2023 and again in 2024 to provide consultation and guidance for communities wishing to improve their eligibility for designation as an IDA Dark Sky Community.
In 2023, eight mostly rural Western Colorado communities were provided with consultants to develop comprehensive dark sky outdoor illumination programs.
In 2024 the Town of Rangely received one of the mentorship grants and is proceeding to develop a Dark Sky program.
Among the Dark Sky program benefits are increased tourism and economic development, where domestic and international visitors may enjoy seeing the Milky Way Galaxy, multiple stars and constellations, and planets of our own Solar System. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of the world’s population has seen the full celestial glory of the night sky in areas where light pollution is still minimal. Rio Blanco County is one of those areas.
Northridge California Earthquake creates Dark Sky Discovery
An interesting story occurred during the 1994 Northridge California earthquake which knocked out all electrical power. Emergency 9-1-1 centers began receiving multiple calls reporting “strange lights and moving objects in the night sky.“ Upon investigation law enforcement reported that for the first time, residents were seeing the full glory of the Milky Way galaxy, planets, stars, satellites, the International Space Station and aircraft in the night sky that most had never seen since the early 20th Century due to the pervasive orange skyglow reflecting outdoor lighting shining downward ward from air pollution and clouds.
Dark Sky Coalition of Community organizations and individuals formed to support project
A coalition of Dark Sky advocates representing local organizations and individuals is presenting educational programs on implementing Dark Sky Friendly outdoor lighting opportunities. To request a presentation or additional information, please contact Robert Amick at [email protected] or call 970 274-6557.
BY ROBERT AMICK
