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Street lights: The whole dim truth

By David W. Shelton | November 9, 2007 |

In the last few years, sidewalks have been the heralded luxury for Clarksville subdivisions. Perhaps we should consider that street lights are also needed for our neighborhoods. At least two subdivisions are so badly lit at night that danger beckons.

Arbor Greene and Arbor Greene North, two subdivisions near the intersections of Trenton Road and Tylertown Road, are poorly lit—if there are any lights at all. Granted, I can’t say that there aren’t enough lights in the Arbor Greene subdivision since there are thirteen light poles in the neighborhood. Arbor Greene North, however, isn’t quite so lucky. That subdivision has less than one light per twelve houses.

However, if these lights were the typical mercury vapor lamps that are installed throughout the Arbor Greene South subdivision and several other “underground utility” neighborhoods, then it wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, the lights in these two areas are best described as “ornamental” lights with a globe perched on an 8- or 10-foot pole. And what kind of light bulb do these glorified candles take? If you guessed anything but a standard 100-watt bulb, you’d be mistaken.

To make matters worse, residents are expected to change these bulbs themselves. Since they’re standard bulbs, this shouldn’t be any difficulty, but more and more, homeowners are unclear as to who is actually responsible for maintenance of these lamps. As a result, the bulbs don’t get changed. As I write this article, of those thirteen light poles in Arbor Greene, six are out. If it wasn’t already too dark to walk the (albeit too narrow) sidewalks at night with these paltry low wattage bulbs, it certainly is now.

The developer was contracted to put in a certain number of lights in these subdivisions. To our dismay, they chose the least expensive route possible, which has resulted in more confusion and streets that are just too dark. Perhaps they were chosen because they were “pretty.” It’s too bad that they’re “pretty bad” as well.

Perhaps it’s time for us to realize that street lights aren’t a luxury after all, and are needed even in this forgotten corner of Clarksville.

About David W. Shelton

Posts by David W. Shelton are copyright (c)2006, 2007, 2008 by the author. All rights reserved. David W. Shelton is a writer, speaker and activist in Clarksville, and serves on the Clarksville Human Relations Commission. His passions include film and complete equality for all people, and he has worked in various capacities to work toward this goal. He is currently an illustrator, graphic designer, trainer, and is the owner of Imagine Media Solutions. He is an Adobe® Certified Instructor in Photoshop®.

Web Site: http://www.skippingtothepiccolo.com/

Email: dwshelton@att.net

Sections: Issues, Opinion
Topics: arbor greene, arbor greene north, Clarksville TN, Street lights

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