Street lighting in the 'burbs (King of Prussia, Blue Bell: house, schools, live in)

[BPP1999]

It's practically pitch black in places like King of Prussia (Upper Merion Township), Blue Bell (Whitpain Township), Warminster, Whitemarsh, and the list goes on. Does anyone know why? Many of these communities are mature and largely built-out. Why is the infrastructure so lacking? Is it because these communities started out a long time ago? Is it because they were too frugal to want to spend money on street lighting? Or do people there not want lighting even though they live in a suburban area with traffic and children everywhere?

I'm just wondering if others have noticed this...

[toobusytoday]

Ever heard of light pollution? It's kind of nice to see stars at night. I'm serious. Many communities have ordinances against over-lighting areas.

[BPP1999]

Sure I've heard of light pollution. I'm not talking about "over-lighting" our area. I'm talking about lighting it, period. It seems that in most areas that I've been, suburbia and street lighting go hand-in-hand. It's almost common sense to light areas where people live and drive. Who wants their kids walking to their friend's house down the street when it's completely black and there aren't any sidewalks? I could quite frankly care less about whether or not I see stars. Safety is more important to me. So is the feeling that I live in a community.

I think this is another classic example of Pennsylvania's chronic underfunding problem (schools, roads, public transportation, and other such infrastructure are completely underfunded, and what funds there are are often misused).

[Duderino]

This is an interesting topic -- one that I never really gave thought to before. You're right, however. There really doesn't seem to be a lot of street lighting in suburban communities. I suppose it does boil down to frugality, but this is necessary for prioritizing. At least the major highways have lighting.

[toobusytoday]

How many people walk at night? Would more people walk at night if there were street lights? I doubt it. If kids are old enough to walk to their friends house alone then they should carry a flash light. I think it's just something you get used to. Now, I do think there should be alot more sidewalks for safety's sake and that would pretty much negate the need for lighting and wasting the energy it takes for street lights.