IN BRIDGEPORT, THERE’S TOO MUCH LIGHTING-BY-THE-SEA

Over 110 lights are left on at Mary’s-by-the-Sea park around the clock every night, contributing to light pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo courtesy of Greg Abruzzo)

Originally printed in the Connecticut Post on December 28, 2023.

By Donna Curran & Peter Spain

In 1922, Saint-Mary’s-by-the-Sea was established as a city park closing at dusk. In 2003, 113 glaring blue-poled lights were crammed into a little less than a mile in the park, and they have been burning brightly and disruptively at St Mary’s-by-the-Sea ever since. This year a group of more than 20 residents put forward a commonsense proposal to turn off the lights during bird-migration seasons, Aug. 15-Nov. 15 and April 1-May 31. The proposal now has evolved to set the lights on timers to go off by 11 p.m., year-round, following the “adaptive lighting” standard in the Connecticut State Building Code as of 2021. Supporters of this simple action include more than 90 percent of homeowners facing the park, more than 70 members of the Black Rock community, as well as the Ash Creek Conservation Association, Aspetuck Land Trust, Lights Out Connecticut, and Dark-Sky International CT.

Timers alone would save the city about $5,000 each year in electricity. Additionally, using timers would reduce the city’s carbon footprint and mitigate widely reported adverse effects of excessive outdoor lights on human health, migratory birds, aquatic life, the environment, and public safety. This matters especially in a park that hosts close to 200 different species of birds and two species of special concern, diamondback terrapins and horseshoe crabs. As for public safety, as many nearby residents have witnessed, left on all night, the park lights attract unlawful gatherings, bringing with them noise violations, neighborhood disturbances, and calls to the police.

There is real concern from residents about the amount of glare and light trespass coming from these lights, which disturb their sleep and block views of Long Island Sound. Light pollution decreases and degrades property owners’ ability to enjoy their own property. Plus Bridgeport’s newest zoning regulations recognize the seriousness of this issue and stipulate that exterior lighting shall not create “glare, light trespass and excess site brightness” that is a “nuisance or a hazard.”

We know from experience in 2018, when the Ganim administration turned off all the lights for three to four months to replace them at the cost of more than $650,000, there was no reported or observed deterioration of public safety due to darkness. Quite the contrary, homeowners facing the park reported more peace and quiet, and they could see the stars then.

Recently, state Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D-129) expressed support for reducing light pollution at St Mary’s through the use of timers. He asked for the 113 park lights to be turned back on by no later than 5 a.m. His concern is that there are residents, including himself, who are exercising “out there very early, in order to make trains or get kids to school.” This would also be a practical way to bring smart, adaptive lighting to the park.

In September, a licensed electrician from WC McBride Electrical, an approved city vendor, visited the site and provided a quote of $931.14 to install two timers for the 113 lights. The timers would reduce electricity costs enough in the first several months to more than pay for them. The same day that the electrician came out to meet with community members to examine an electric box for the lights, the mayor jogged by and showed no interest, leaving the matter to his now-retired director of public facilities.

In early November, after four months’ more consideration of the park lights proposal and growing support in our community, the Parks Commission punted the matter back to the Ganim administration.

To date, no one in the Ganim administration has indicated a serious willingness to consider the option of installing timers at the two metered electric boxes that feed the 113 blue-poled lights in the park. In early December, during an appearance on “The Lisa Wexler Show” (WICC 600 AM), the mayor was asked about turning off the lights at St. Mary’s park. He mentioned only that his administration has found that the police Department and the parks commission have had some issues with it. Nothing more.

While the Ganim administration continues to ignore the blinding lights, citizens persist. And the lights burn on.

Donna Curran is a former City Council member for the City of Bridgeport and currently heads the Lights Out Bridgeport Committee of the Ash Creek Conservation Association. Peter Spain is a former City Council member for the City of Bridgeport and currently serves on the Habitat Protection Committee of the Ash Creek Conservation Association.