You see it every time you walk at night: pathway, bike lane, and street lighting is a trusted, safe way to journey campus. Big evening events for new students hit each fall, leading into sporting events, music acts and every outdoor activity… but at night.
And with lighting installed in recent years, including at Illini Grove, along Kirby west of Gies Memorial Stadium, and in multi-story parking lots, pedestrians are seeing more clear than ever. All while the campus grows toward full adoption of “Dark Sky” standards, which is a “recognized worldwide authority combatting light pollution.”
Essentially, you don’t want light leaking up toward the sky, or simply being turned on unnecessarily or placed in inefficient locations. Lights like spherical globes or other, more ornamental shapes, may spill light up more than more modern designs that take light pollution seriously.
But Why?
“Second to an overall reduction of outdoor lighting, using ‘Dark Sky Approved’ light fixtures is the best method for reducing light pollution,” said Bridgette Moen, F&S landscape architect. “Light pollution is detrimental to both wildlife and human health. Many animals rely on day-night cycles, which are disrupted from light pollution. According to the National Audubon Society, artificial light can disorient migrating birds and result in collisions with buildings. Researchers at the University of York found that moths attracted to night lights resulted in reduced plant pollination.”
“In the human environment, light pollution can actually decrease safe movement at night. Traditional streetlights are often non-shielded and light the landscape at the vehicle scale; this can cause glare and make it harder to see pedestrians or cyclists. Too much artificial light in the evening can also disrupt sleep patterns, leading to higher risks of chronic conditions. Perhaps the most obvious result, light pollution makes it much harder to view the night sky. Light pollution has become so ubiquitous that starwatchers flock to regions with low light pollution to enjoy the night sky. One of which is in the backyard of the university at the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, the only Dark Sky Park in Illinois.”
Eva Sweeney, F&S capital projects, is glad to note how trends are increasing: “’Dark Sky’ lighting prevents light pollution not just to the sky, but also glare and spillover beyond property lines. F&S facility standards call for ‘Dark Sky’ approval on all outdoor lighting, including streets, sidewalks and parking lots. Virtually all new installations for the past 15-20 years have adhered to this policy.”
“It takes planning to meet all the safety needs of our busy campus while maintaining ‘Dark Sky’ standards. Newer LED technology and fixtures make it much easier to control the output, directing nearly all the light to where people can use it. Less than half as much energy is needed to safely light our streets and sidewalks compared to the old fashioned fixtures. Apart from ‘Dark Sky,’ sometimes even more can be saved with motion-activated lighting such as at Lot E-14. That technology is most suitable for parking lots, where late night usage is very low. Lights on the busiest pedestrian sidewalks are not generally motion activated for safety reasons.”
Little Light
One location on campus, and the experts who use the space, needing real darkness is the Observatory.
“Astronomers can’t view the stars if they are being blinded by streetlights, so for many years the nearby lights were painted black on the side facing the Observatory,” Sweeney said. “Nowadays we use Dark Sky fixtures instead.”
The nearby historic farming land, the Morrow Plots, doesn’t want too much electric light, either. Famously, buildings nearby were planned in a manner as to not “throw shade on the corn,” per an old song about the campus feature.
“Not many people will remember that the nighttime effects were also considered, and lights were placed to avoid shining on the. Believe it or not, corn needs to sleep too!”
