Up and down the Wood River Valley, one of the wisest, most cherished "green" actions of government has been adoption of so-called dark sky ordinances to shield lights from shining upward and obscuring the appealing Idaho nights.
That said, the city of Ketchum should take a second look at those bollard lights installed on Fourth Street in the area of the new town square.
Attractive as they may be, they also are dazzlingly bright, probably too much so as decorative fixtures or as illumination for pedestrians at night.
The question is whether the city, as the enforcer of the dark sky ordinance, may have violated the spirit if not the precise reading of the law with the bollards, which are exposed-side metal posts with lighting inside. The answer should not be the one proposed: to change the city's dark skies ordinance to allow the lights along with other street lamps along Fourth Street that are not full-cutoff as required by the city's own law.
Ketchum quite properly within the past months flagged the new YMCA for exterior lights that were in violation of the code. The Y is in the process of installing custom shields to cut down the upward flow of beams to comply with the city regulation.
So, sensitive as the community and the city are to enforcing the code, the same diligence should be applied to those bollard lights. The fixtures can be saved. But the light brightness could be toned down a shade or two and the night skies ordinance could remain intact.
We're mindful that Yuletime holiday lighting is a bright addition to the valley nights. But these are temporary and important to the festive air of the season.
The city's bollards are permanent and should not be allowed to become a source of light pollution.
