Quote:
Originally Posted by WillFulmer
Not my roommate luckily, just a message I saw on the SWCC yahoogroup and felt the need to pass on. I completely agree with lights etc. Using those eco-friendly bulbs outside is great but those lights need to be ~ 100W in order to provide real light. If you have a light outside your house, Lowes/Home Depot sells a cheap <$7 device which is a light timer for your bulb, no hardwiring required.
Lighting up those trees, businesses is also nice and does make the neighborhood much more pleasant.
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With the 'eco bulbs' it's a matter of number. Having one really bright point of light on a block can actually make the rest of the block more vulnerable because it makes the darkness darker, so to speak. Having a fair number of moderately bright accent lighting can make a space quite safe and attractive and not prevent neighbors falling asleep while others are coming home late and wanting to be safe.
I wonder if maybe the SOSNA board would consider establishing lighting requirements as part of their zoning mission. Basically, there is no reason they couldn't require landscape lighting (street trees) for all properties, accent lighting for the sidewalk, and some sort of 24-hour shop-window lighting for businessness (just enough to detract vandals).