To the editor:
I learned something very interesting and hopeful at the Select Board meeting last night (Oct. 26): The new, overpowering array of tall, cobra-headed street lights is not mandated by the DOT, nor — apparently — is the intensity of the illumination. It was our choice, under the misimpression that we had no good alternative. But we do.
Both the shiny steel cobras and the much shorter black retro street lamps are owned by National Grid, standard items in their limited inventory. We should insist that all of the cobras be swapped out for the black retros. To my non-expert eye, the retros would fit on the same bases as the cobras, so no new construction or wiring would be necessary. The small retros probably aren’t any more expensive than the much larger cobras, which are still pristine and should be able to go back into National Grid’s inventory.
The retros would do a fine job of bathing the sidewalks in warm light. The street itself would not be as brightly lit, but it would still be brighter than Route 7 is north and south of downtown Main Street. It would also probably be safer for pedestrians, because at night our cobra-lit Main Street looks like a state highway that traffic engineers designed, and out-of-town motorists will take that as their visual cue to speed. With the retros, the visual cue is that this is a pedestrian-friendly small downtown, and drive with care.
What can you and I do? Ask the Select Board to direct the Town Manager to pursue the swap with National Grid ASAP. I believe that both the SB and the TM will be supportive of this initiative, but their negotiating position with National Grid will be much stronger if there is a full-throated public outcry.
Chip Elitzer
Great Barrington
