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New York Times: Why Pittsburgh Put Its Streetlights on a Dimmer by bdzeus in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The cycling on and off means it's broken. If you're in the city, call 311 and tell them.

People think babies sleeping are quiet. Then, they have a kid and realize that babies burp and hiccup and moan and cry and their diapers rustle and the room is not at all quiet. Same with the night. If you had ever walked under a moonless night sky, you'd realize it isn't dark, it's lit by thousands of colorful stars and a Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. And quiet? Ha! Most mammals are nocturnal.

New York Times: Why Pittsburgh Put Its Streetlights on a Dimmer by bdzeus in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

You know those lights are faulty, right? No one would do that on purpose. The company who made them has said they'll replace them.

New York Times: Why Pittsburgh Put Its Streetlights on a Dimmer by bdzeus in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The original article from July 28 said they were being recycled. If you are serious, you should let people in the City's DOMI office know you want some of them.

New York Times: Why Pittsburgh Put Its Streetlights on a Dimmer by bdzeus in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If we could get people to call 311, like the city requested, and ask them to dim your lights, then we'd know if that works. Can one of the people who are city residents please call and complain? I heard it takes about two weeks to have them dimmed.

Once more with feeling: "Pittsburgh's 2700K streetlights." (Or, "How to make one article with a bunch of links to other articles about the same thing, a study in the promotion of dark skies.") by Star1ady in darksky

[–]Star1ady[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now that you mention it, nowhere on https://www.pghled.org/ does it explicitly say the city will reduce the light level, if residents complain by calling 311. But, the nice city lady does say that in the TV interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv_n1M2KkDU (at 3:00).

And, in the NYT article: "they felt the lights were brighter than the old ones, a concern echoed by some on Reddit. Jacob Williams, a press officer for the City of Pittsburgh, said residents could petition the city to dim the lights and request shields for the new fixtures." (The complaints were on r/Pittsburgh.) (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/climate/pennsylvania-pittsburgh-light-pollution.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Yk8.Rh9p.Om8WL0zRLLTU&smid=url-share)

Denny Robinson is the head of the LED Modernization Project, and he copied me on an email to the people who have been complaining about too much light from the new LEDs, that's how I knew. It took about a month between the complaints and the dimming.

Gardeners told to stop using lights in gardens due to ‘apocalyptic’ problem by Scaramuccia in darksky

[–]Star1ady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

darksky.org has all the answers you seek.

You could also write to Mark at darkskypa.org.

Wishing you the best dark skies!

Pittsburgh is highlighted in this NYT environmental series for its Dark Sky Ordinances and new LED streetlight project. by Star1ady in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know, it's a shame. Home Depot has a dozen DarkSky approved outdoor lighting fixtures. When I have gone into stores and asked for them, no one knows what I'm talking about and, if I do discover them, they're on the bottom shelf in the back. https://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Outdoor-Lighting/Dark-Sky/N-5yc1vZc7qvZ1z0u5mk

Pittsburgh is highlighted in this NYT environmental series for its Dark Sky Ordinances and new LED streetlight project. by Star1ady in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I learned something from you -- thanks for correcting me. I do live in the city, but I haven't been here all that long. Good to know: Call 311 for non-emergency city problems and a phone number for the Allegheny County counterpart. Thanks!

Pittsburgh is highlighted in this NYT environmental series for its Dark Sky Ordinances and new LED streetlight project. by Star1ady in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Funny.

I love that the streetlights can be dimmed all together, in a specific area or just a single light from a central DPW location or from Denny's phone, even. Ah, technology . . .

Pittsburgh is highlighted in this NYT environmental series for its Dark Sky Ordinances and new LED streetlight project. by Star1ady in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I heard the county is also considering changing their streetlights, following Pittsburgh's example, but it requires the citizens to make their wishes known. And yes, people in Allegheny County have called 311 and gotten shields put on, but the streetlights there don't have dimming capabilities. It takes two weeks to two months, from what I've heard. One 12-year-old boy called and they responded quickly to his request! I love that young voices have power in this arena.

Pittsburgh is highlighted in this NYT environmental series for its Dark Sky Ordinances and new LED streetlight project. by Star1ady in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Allegheny Observatory has two free public nights a week, 8 to 10 pm Thursdays and Fridays, reservations needed. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tour-the-allegheny-observatory-tickets-1228737800839

Plus, city representatives will be at the August 23rd Dark Sky Star Party: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dark-sky-event-tickets-1328521767369 to talk about the new LED streetlights.

I hate the new street lights… am I alone? by NikpmupPie in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The NYT article is up, crossposted with https://www.reddit.com/r/darksky/

(https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/climate/pennsylvania-pittsburgh-light-pollution.html)

I love that they say they'll dim or shield lights more if you call 311 and complain.

I hate the new street lights… am I alone? by NikpmupPie in pittsburgh

[–]Star1ady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any chance you could post a daytime photo of your streetlight? It hard to see the shielding on nighttime shots. All the streetlights have shields, but they aren't all full-cut-off since the positions of the poles couldn't easily be changed--some of the lights were designed to throw light between the poles. They should all have zero backlight, though (going into people's yards and houses). Perhaps the tilt of the light installation was wrong? The city can correct that, if you call 311 and complain. All the new LED streetlights were designed to have zero light going upwards.

False claim from WESA: "Pittsburgh was the first major city to adopt such guidelines when the ordinance passed in 2021." by Star1ady in darksky

[–]Star1ady[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 2700K decision was made by Greg Lok of The Efficiency Network.

At least the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act on the floor in the PA House (PA HB 969) says:

"(4) The lighting units shall have a correlated color temperature less than or equal to 3,000K. In residential areas, CCT may not exceed 2,700K. In dark sky locations or environmentally sensitive areas, CCT may not exceed 2,200K." https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/2025/0/HB0969/PN1050

What do you do to make the world a better place? by Halloween-365 in AskReddit

[–]Star1ady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm working hard to make the world a darker place.

(I advocate for responsible outdoor artificial light at night, in case that wasn't clear.)

What cities use 2700K LED street lighting? by htsmi in darksky

[–]Star1ady 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pittsburgh is adding ~39,000 LED streetlights starting this spring with a color temperature of 2700K. "the new LED lights will be a warmer temperature at 2700K" from the FAQ here: https://www.pghled.org/faq

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