1/17/2020 Dark Skies Paonia Update...
At the Town Council meeting on Tuesday January 14th, Town Council voted in favor of shielded, 2700 Kelvin streetlights for Paonia... a big step towards Paonia's Dark Sky Certification!
The new streetlights are the first step towards Dark Sky Certification and give Paonia a great foundation in the process. The next step is the outdoor lighting assessment to see what publicly owned lights can be improved. The Town also needs to create an International Dark Sky Community Lighting Ordinance to regulate outdoor nighttime lighting in Town.
The evidence clearly shows the negative impact LED lights at night have on our health. Dark Skies Paonia thinks that citizens' complaints should be taken seriously, and light at night should stay where its needed - on the sidewalks and roads - and not shine into people's homes at night or dilute the nighttime sky. Once the new lights are installed, if residents are being negatively impacted by light spilling onto their property, they can leave a comment at www.darkskiespaonia.com.
Dark Skies Paonia envisions beautiful and artistic pedestrian Dark Sky friendly lighting in Paonia's downtown areas that will be attractive, provide safety for motorists and pedestrians, and be healthy for residents and the environment. We will continue working towards this goal.
Dark Skies Paonia thanks DMEA and the Town of Paonia for working with us on the streetlight upgrade. We look forward to working together more as the Dark Sky certification process moves forward. We also thank the many citizens who showed up for the streetlight demonstration and Town Council meetings with input and support for Dark Skies.
Please visit www.darkskiespaonia.com to stay up to date on progress towards Paonia's Dark Sky certification.
Thank you,
Dark Skies Paonia
