NTNA East Rio Neighbors

the new basketball court lights are  a poor solution. Altho just shielding one light was not possible as a solution either.

the new lights are an application that is 'standardized' among all the parks in Tempe, including the big ones like Kiwanis. Tempe needs to start looking at alternative ideas for small 'neighborhood parks' like Mitchell Park. the uses can be more varied. questioning all the assumptions should be required.

ie: all parks must have lots of 'sports' and increasing activity is always the goal. we need to look at appropriate activity (ies) and appropriate and specialized uses.

These individual issues are going to continue to happen until the Master plan process is worked thru. The Clark Park master planning process was great! unfortunately, so far, the schedule for park renovation and master plan has them tied together in the same funding. This was not always the case, but has evolved for administrative/budgeting reasons i presume. And the renovation of Mitchell Park is scheduled years away, i have trouble still understanding exactly when.

So, in the meantime, i suggest the Parks follow some kind of code that includes 'do no harm'. In such case, the new lights were not a good solution, and definitely have altered radically the character of the park at night and adjacent quality of life of the residents. They should be turned off immediately.

To all the folks who are skeptical about the negative impact of the  lights, here's something to look at. 

I posted some photos demonstrating the impact the new basketball court lights have on our property and our neighbors properties.

Go to "community pages" on the Mithchell Park Neighborhood home page and click on the "Which would you pick?" link.

Seriously, tell me which you'd pick?

Bruce

Dear Bruce,  You are right.  I should have replied long ago to this concern.  I finally went down to the park at night this week and looked over the situation.  The courts were full, and the lights were blazing. 

Brutus and I walked to the edge of the park (I did not feel comfortable walking down the alley in the dark).  The lights were quite bright, but from that angle it appeared they did not extend as far as I thought they would.  However, staring from a distance toward the court was another thing. 

I support you in your wish for light privacy.  The light pollution section of the city code, I thought, upheld your position.  I am glad Mac is researching the Dark Sky issue, and hope to do so myself soon.  The pictures were telling, and I wish the soft pink lights (quartz or whatever they are) were on the court, or that the court lights were lower. 

The tendency of the bureaucracy to resist specific solutions is ridiculous.  Any inventive person (my son-in-law for example) could devise a shield that would work.  That's not his field, but surely someone has done it. 

I will gladly write a letter, or go to a meeting, but want some solid facts in my mind first, thus the research needed. 

Sincerely,

Pat

http://data.nextrionet.com/site/idsa/is185.pdf   is a section of the dark sky website directly pertinent to this problem.  I haven't absorbed the information yet, but wonder if you have the brand and type of lights in your notes somewhere, as this and other sites discuss specific lighting fixtures.    An interesting problem, but that doesn't help Bruce and Celia yet. 

Meanwhile, would planting vines that would creep across the chain-link fence help?  We had problems with the lights and noise and heat from the paved church parking lot/day nursery behind us a decade plus ago,,some city council members were sympathetic, and eventually the nursery school  problem disappeared, but we had to help ourselves  by planting barriers in the backyard.  Now the catsclaw vines cover almost all of the back walls and we have great privacy.   Ikea used to have inexpensive balcony screens of fabric with grommets that I have used in many ways to provide shade or privacy areas.  When my daughter moved their blackberry bushes outside the fence, cutting their height greatly, they restored some privacy with bamboo screen/fencing tied to the 8 foot chainlink fence.

ps  anyone want some blackberry shoots? baby catsclaw vines?

Pat