Seeing the light
Peduto administration aims to reduce light pollution in proposed ordinance
An effort to see the Milky Way is underway with a potential new city law that requires softer, subtler lighting in Pittsburgh’s public parks, buildings and along the streets.
Mayor Bill Peduto’s office on Tuesday introduced a “dark sky” ordinance in an effort to reduce light pollution that often upstages the stars, disrupts wildlife and wastes energy.
“I can tell you, with my students, there’s been a dramatic change. They used to know where the Milky Way was,” said Diane Turnshek, astronomer and special lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, who estimates one must drive 40 minutes outside of Pittsburgh to see the galaxy. “It’s really sad, the idea that people just don’t go outside and look up anymore.”
Ms. Turnshek spoke Tuesday alongside city officials and representatives from the National Aviary, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and Phipps Conservatory to announce efforts to reduce light pollution through using light sensors, dimmers and changing the direction and color of the lights. All three Pittsburgh institutions have agreed to adhere to principles set forth in the mayor’s legislation.
“We wanted to be able to use engineering and technology in order to be able to use light as it’s needed in areas that need to be illuminated,” Mr. Peduto said during the news conference at the National Aviary’s North Side facility.
The proposed bill would include replacing the city’s LED streetlights, as well as doing the same with lights at any of the city’s facilities and parks that undergo major renovations.
Currently, the city’s roughly 35,000 LED streetlights blaze at a color temperature of 5,000 Kelvins — a cool daylight-like brightness that disperses a blue light that is much brighter than the warmer, softer 2,700 to 3,000 Kelvins recommended by the International Dark Sky Association.
Streetlights are available in the lower color temperature thanks to evolving LED technology, said Steve Quick, an architect and adjunct instructor with Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture, who also spoke at the news conference.
The city is reviewing bids to choose a vendor by the end of the year to replace the lights, as well as add 8,000 new street lights in the recommended color temperature around the city, according to the mayor’s office.
Other measures in the proposal would include reducing lighting in “non-habitable structures,” including picnic pavilions and dugouts, and limiting or dimming lightings in city buildings overnight.
The ordinance, which will require City Council’s approval, is the first of its kind in the nation, according to the mayor’s office and Mr. Quick.
Council is expected to discuss the measure next week.
The city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience will provide a forthcoming guide for residents and businesses who are interested in employing the dark-sky model.