What do We (Terry & Sam) recommend?
The Governing Body has made its decision to go with 2700/3000 K lighting. However ill-informed that we may think that decision was, our goal now must be to make sure that the implementation of that plan meets the goals of (a) lighting the city safely, (b) reducing the city’s carbon footprint, and (c) reducing the city’s contribution to area light pollution. With this in mind, we have revised our recommendations.
Good lighting will not come automatically or — if our experience of the last three months is a meaningful guide — easily. We are going to need to fight to make these recommendations heard.
- For streets with posted speed limits greater than 30 mph, brightness should follow the safety guidelines of the IES;
- For streets with posted speed limits less than 30 mph, if lighting is needed at all its brightness should be adjusted for resident comfort;
- All lighting fixtures should be have BUG ratings no greater than B1-U0-G1 unless absolutely required for roadway safety;
- All lighting luminaires should be remotely controllable and after-hours dimming of the street lighting should be employed immediately and throughout the city in accord with need and resident preference.
- Most importantly, hire an experienced and expert lighting engineer to develop a responsible lighting plan for the city. Dalkia is neither experienced nor expert and has misrepresented itself to the city. It is foolish to entrust them with the health and safety of Santa Fe’s residents and visitors.