A task force charged with looking into the issue of lighting in Reston has issued its initial mission statement.
The group, organized by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill), first convened back in August. Since then, the group has met several times to research the issue of lighting Reston and Fairfax County, and, according to its statement of goals released earlier this month, "to evaluate and comment on the county's draft zoning ordinance."
"Lighting in Reston particularly, and in Fairfax County more generally, has been a controversial issue," said Hudgins. "I have convened this task force in the hopes that the members will arrive at conclusions that will improve the safety of both pedestrians and motorists while ensuring the outdoor lighting is done efficiently and with respect to both light pollution and financial considerations."
<b>BILL BURTON</b>, an amateur astronomer, a self-proclaimed lighting aficionado and a member of the International Dark Sky Association, a non-profit environmental organization that builds awareness of the problem of light pollution, chairs the task force. "I have been seeing the deterioration of lighting around Reston for years," the USGS geologist said. "It is not just more lights that is the problem, it's poor lighting."
For Burton, who approached Hudgins two years ago about the issue of lighting in Reston, there are a few flash points in the war against light pollution. Burton points to the lights on the Wiehle Avenue bridge over the Dulles Toll Road as well as the new lighting in Isaac Newton Square as examples of lighting run amok. "These are very glarey fixtures and they represent inefficient use of electricity and they pose problems to drivers," Burton said. "You go from those well lit areas to places of darkness and your eyes have trouble adjusting and the problem is worse for older drivers."
And while safety is a concern for people on both sides of the issue, esthetics is also clearly a problem for Burton and others on the board. Burton pointed to the Wiehle Avenue bridge as a road that is "way overlit." Burton called the excessive lighting along the bridge as nothing more than "an advertisement for VDOT." It's an excuse for VDOT, Burton said, to say, "hey, look at our bridge." The new lighting, commonly referred to as Cobra lighting, found in Isaac Newton Square, is "unattractive." The original lighting in the square, and elsewhere, resembles a shoe box, dispersing light downward. "These lights are not approved by Virginia Power, they like to put in Cobra head lighting, the high pressured sodium, they have an orange glow," Burton said. "Our vigilance has broken down and some poor lighting decisions have been made."
Burton and others are trying to renew a long-standing fight to keep that sort of light out of Reston, he said.
"Our long-range goal is to come up with a comprehensive lighting plan for the Hunter Mill District," Burton said. "What constitutes appropriate lighting and what constitutes good lighting fixtures, that is what we are looking for."
<b>WHILE SOME LOOK</b> at lighting with esthetics and conservation in mind, others look at the dark streets winding through Reston and think safety. "The quantitative data says essentially, 'more light, less crime,' said Omar Kader, a former Reston Citizen's Association (RCA) board member. "I don't know if Reston fits that because we are a unique community, but I've never met anyone that wants less light."
When he was on the RCA board, Kader chaired the police and community relations committee. "There are people who don't like technology and don't like growth and don't like development," he said. "They will use every excuse under the sun and over the world to make an excuse to get rid of lighting, but it has nothing to do with reality because everyone knows more lighting is better."
The task force, and Burton, are not looking to make Reston completely dark, they only argue that there are better ways to light Reston on the ground without distracting from the starlight above. Burton has a response to those, like Kader, who subscribe to the 'more light, less crime' camp. "[They] may be right and if that is true let's get the right kind of lighting in there," Burton said. "Let's get lighting in there that shines downward. In pedestrian areas, lets get smaller lights, more sidewalk level lighting."
Kader, a 20-year fan and resident of Reston, is critical of some of the community's lamp-free neighborhoods. "Can you imagine a less family-friendly community than one that is dark?" asked Kader. "It is not a family-friendly place. Put lighting in so people can walk where they want to. Why don't these people move to Montana? Why don't they move to Alaska where they can really be isolated? I've never really understood that."
For Burton, it's not necessarily a matter of more or less, though sometimes it is, but better and more effective. "People understood that attractive lighting makes for an attractive community," he said, applauding Great Falls and Potomac as two communities committed to diminishing street light pollution.
For people like Kader, there is a safety issue with increased lighting.
"It's a family-friendly issue, it even enhances the property value. My own house sits on the corner of probably the worst street in Reston. I have three streets around me. I have South Lakes, Wakerobbin and Tanbark and if I don't close my blinds the South Lakes neon sign flashes through my window," he said. "And everybody in my neighborhood opposed that, but since they put that light in, a lot of people at that bus stop can see themselves.
"It's common sense," said Kader. "Those people that oppose lighting, it's not only not common sense, it is some kind of predisposed ideological commitment to something unrelated to rational living."
<b>CAPT. MICHAEL VENCAK</b>, the commander of the Reston substation, is working with the task force to find equitable solutions to those that would like more light and those that prefer the status quo.
"Do I see that it should all be lit up? The answer is, 'no.' I live in a residential zone in Prince William County and would I like street lights out front of my home, the answer is, 'no.'," Vencak said. "The idea of what the task force is looking at it is good, but we are mindful to the community and the task force will meet with the community to see if this is a solution they would like to see."
Given his job, Vencak will be looking into public safety issues surrounding lights. "I've been taking a look at high accident intersections. We're going to look to see if overhead lighting would do some stuff to reduce accidents," Vencak said. "I also told [Supervisor Hudgins] that I would also like to talk to my officers to pick some additional locations to study. They may feel from making their calls and being on their patrols that certain streets or intersections could benefit from additional lighting."