In Wheatley Heights, the street lights on Linden Street between Perry Lane and Main Avenue are much dimmer than the others in my neighborhood. They’re soft, almost pink. Now it gets dark early and I don’t feel safe because the area isn’t properly lit. The Wheatley Heights Civic Association has complained to the Town of Babylon several times. The town said they’re aware of the problem, but nothing’s been done.
--Cassandra Coles, Wheatley Heights
The nights are brighter on Linden Street.
When we called the Town of Babylon earlier this week, officials told us the low-pressure sodium lights that produce the dim light on Linden would be replaced within the next few weeks with brighter bulbs. By Friday night, civic association members said, the bulbs had been changed.
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The upgrade is part of an on-going conversion that will affect roughly 24 percent of the street lights within the Town of Babylon, spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said.
“The reason there are low-pressure sodium lights on Linden and other streets is that those were considered more energy-efficient in the 1970s,” Baird-Streeter said. “Today, high-pressure sodium is just as efficient...This should help with the lights’ intensity and brightness.”
Town of Babylon residents with neighborhood lighting problems can call the town’s Department of Public Works at 631-957-3161.
Also related to this topic:
*U.S. Department of Energy (Low-pressure sodium lighting)
Comments (1)
Another thing that has not been addressed here are stray voltage issues which is always an issue in city infastructure systems. In New York City, for example, each year a number of people (and pets)are injured from stray voltage which can electrify manhole covers and street lamps. A woman was killed after she stepped on a manhole casement which had been accidentaly electrified. There are many other cases involving injuries, some serious. In Northern cities, this is compounded with the use of salt on the streets in the winter. One clever solution to this issue is to have a real-time stray voltage warning system. Electrified Cover Safeguard technology (www.manholesafety.com), which holds the patent for real time on site stray voltage warning systems, might offer a solution to this issue.