“Dark Sky” Lighting Earns Downtown Lake Orion Award, and Savings
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 26, 2023)
Lake Orion, MI – Street lights are one of those things people may not think much about, but when the time came to replace the streetlights in Downtown Lake Orion, a little bit of thoughtfulness landed some award-winning results.
Replacing the street lights was a planned investment that had been allocated for in the budget. Not only did the Downtown Development Authority Board want to upgrade to more energy-efficient bulbs, they also wanted to improve safety with a wider circle of light on the sidewalks, with less light intruding upwards into neighboring apartments.
The lighting solution, by Helm Electric, also reduces light pollution, meaning less of a glow from the downtown into the night sky above, competing less with the natural beauty of the stars overhead. Softer, warmer-toned bulbs help to reduce glare, while giving 50% more light to the sidewalks below. The bulbs, and the way they are capped to divert light downward, are in line with International Dark Sky Association standards.
According to DDA Director Molly LaLone, there are about 150 light posts in the downtown. Rather than replacing the poles, they were able to replace the base and wiring to use new lights, making the project about half as expensive as it would have been. The budget called for a $75,000 expenditure, yet the actual cost was $39,400. Design Committee Members did testing on the strength of the lighting both before and after the project.
The Dark Sky lighting project was recently honored with a Main Street Oakland County Award for Sustainability. “The Lake Orion DDA Board of Directors is proud to have been recognized by their peers for this project at the annual Main Event in Oakland County,” LaLone said.
“Lake Orion could have taken the “easy” approach to solving their lighting/safety problem by installing the cheapest, quickest lighting option, however they chose to invest their time and attention for the betterment of downtown. This commitment resulted in a decision that was well researched, beneficial in the short and long term, and retained the integrity of nature by limiting light pollution,” said one of the judges. “Light pollution isn’t always a concept main streets are talking about, but they should.”
Another remarked, “It’s great to see communities start to address the issue of light pollution and energy efficiency. And while this was a simple project, it is no less impactful than something a lot larger in scale or more visible.”
LaLone and the rest of the DDA team are happy with the results, and with the accolades. “The Lake Orion DDA Board of Directors is proud to have been recognized by their peers for this project at the annual Main Event in Oakland County,” she said.
Learn more about Downtown Lake Orion at https://downtownlakeorion.org/. Learn more about the Dark Sky movement at https://www.darksky.org/.
