Is it really dark in Maplewood?

vdfam said:

Klinker said:
Sigh...
Heaven forbid our kids actually be able to see more than 5 stars.
Times Square at night is not the optimum lighting level for the entire planet.

 I love how blog & social media logic demands we go from "Is it dark in Maplewood?" to "It's this or Times Square lighting" and light pollution, as if one more lumen means the stars are blotted out, we live in Times Square, and unbearable light pollution has befallen us.
And … It's not the porch lights making my side of Springfield lighter, but street lights that burn brighter.

 That was hardly my point.  My actual point was that folks who move here from the city are used to a much higher level of lighting than is normal for American suburbs.

Its cloudy tonight but, when it clears up, go outside and count how many starts you can see.  I guarantee that there are supposed to be more than seven (no fair counting planes and helicopters).

Are people walking at night around here really not safe or do they just feel unsafe without good reason other than "it feels dark"?

The darkness is a real problem for pedestrians walking after dark.   Distracted drivers compound the problem.  I often see drivers stopped at a crosswalk so focused on the flow of traffic as they are looking to turn into a busy roadway that they fail to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of them, however reflective the pedestrian's clothing.  Add distracted pedestrians who are not paying attention to what the drivers are doing and you have a recipe for disaster.  Moving vehicles aren't the only problem facing pedestrians walking in the dark.  Uneven/missing/heaved sidewalk, uncleared debris, overgrown foliage, wet leaves, ice patches all contribute to the problem faced by pedestrians walking at night and can contribute to falls and other injury-causing encounters.  Improved street lighting would contribute to safer walking conditions.

joan_crystal said:
 Distracted drivers compound the problem.  I often see drivers stopped at a crosswalk so focused on the flow of traffic as they are looking to turn into a busy roadway that they fail to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of them, however reflective the pedestrian's clothing.  

 This is true in the daytime as well as at night.  The solution is to crack down on distracted driving, not to line the roads with floodlights.

Klinker said:

joan_crystal said:
 Distracted drivers compound the problem.  I often see drivers stopped at a crosswalk so focused on the flow of traffic as they are looking to turn into a busy roadway that they fail to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of them, however reflective the pedestrian's clothing.  

 This is true in the daytime as well as at night.  The solution is to crack down on distracted driving, not to line the roads with floodlights.

As a pedestrian, I do not have as much trouble navigating intersections as I do walking on the dark stretches of sidewalk, path, or roadway.  Try navigating one of our steep hills before dawn or after dark when the pedestrian may be confronted with patches of black ice, streams of water flowing down sidewalks, patches of slippery leaves, fallen tree branches and spores, uneven stretches of sidewalk, potholes in sidewalk or roadway, low hanging tree limbs or trees and shrubs blocking the sidewalk.  These are conditions that are much more dangerous in low light conditions than they are in daylight.

joan_crystal said:

Klinker said:

joan_crystal said:
 Distracted drivers compound the problem.  I often see drivers stopped at a crosswalk so focused on the flow of traffic as they are looking to turn into a busy roadway that they fail to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of them, however reflective the pedestrian's clothing.  

 This is true in the daytime as well as at night.  The solution is to crack down on distracted driving, not to line the roads with floodlights.

As a pedestrian, I do not have as much trouble navigating intersections as I do walking on the dark stretches of sidewalk, path, or roadway.  Try navigating one of our steep hills before dawn or after dark when the pedestrian may be confronted with patches of black ice, streams of water flowing down sidewalks, patches of slippery leaves, fallen tree branches and spores, uneven stretches of sidewalk, potholes in sidewalk or roadway, low hanging tree limbs or trees and shrubs blocking the sidewalk.  These are conditions that are much more dangerous in low light conditions than they are in daylight.

 Have you ever considered carrying a flashlight?  They have ones now that you can even strap onto your head.

https://smile.amazon.com/GRDE-Rechargeable-Headlight-Flashlight-Adjustable/dp/B0776V97B6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545690397&sr=8-3&keywords=strap+on+flashlight

I am reminded of the novel The Passage by Justin Cronin.

Klinker said:

joan_crystal said:

Klinker said:

joan_crystal said:
 Distracted drivers compound the problem.  I often see drivers stopped at a crosswalk so focused on the flow of traffic as they are looking to turn into a busy roadway that they fail to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of them, however reflective the pedestrian's clothing.  

 This is true in the daytime as well as at night.  The solution is to crack down on distracted driving, not to line the roads with floodlights.

As a pedestrian, I do not have as much trouble navigating intersections as I do walking on the dark stretches of sidewalk, path, or roadway.  Try navigating one of our steep hills before dawn or after dark when the pedestrian may be confronted with patches of black ice, streams of water flowing down sidewalks, patches of slippery leaves, fallen tree branches and spores, uneven stretches of sidewalk, potholes in sidewalk or roadway, low hanging tree limbs or trees and shrubs blocking the sidewalk.  These are conditions that are much more dangerous in low light conditions than they are in daylight.

 Have you ever considered carrying a flashlight?  They have ones now that you can even strap onto your head.
https://smile.amazon.com/GRDE-Rechargeable-Headlight-Flashlight-Adjustable/dp/B0776V97B6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545690397&sr=8-3&keywords=strap+on+flashlight

Have you ever considered turning on your porch light instead of blaming the victims? I'm with Joan. Walking on our sidewalks after dark in winter is a death-wish experience, with or without a flashlight. 

kthnry said:

Have you ever considered turning on your porch light instead of blaming the victims? I'm with Joan. Walking on our sidewalks after dark in winter is a death-wish experience, with or without a flashlight. 

I thought this was about street lights, not porch lights.  

All I am saying is that there is a simply solution that people can use if they have a problem seeing at night or want to increase their visibility and that is a flash light.  The fact that this solution doesn't require investment in costly infrastructure AND it doesn't increase the light pollution in our already glowing skies is just icing on the cake.

Plus a flashlight is on when you need it and off when you don't.  You don't waste energy illuminating an entire town at 3:00am in the morning when there is only one pedestrian walking their dog on a single block.

Joan already mentioned that she carries a flashlight when she goes out at night.

I don't know, I think we just disagree on this one and that we ought to vote, act and organize accordingly.

I do wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season though.

Maybe we should set up spotlights at all the town borders and barbed wire fences.