LIGHTS: Brighter offenders

I was amused at the front-page article “BLINDED by the light” — blinded is absolutely correct, but surely not by streetlights.

“Streetlights causing concern” and “homeowners should educate themselves?” Maybe. But why no mention of the utterly obnoxious LED billboards along the 95 corridor? Robideaux Motors stands out as one that is particularly blinding. I often wonder if that sign has been cited as the cause of any major accidents at that intersection, because when it switches to a mostly white advertisement at night, it’s like a warhead going off inside your car.

I respect that a business needs to advertise, and an LED sign needs high output to compete with the sun during the day, but on an overcast night, I can actually observe that sign changing against the cloud cover from miles away. That is real light pollution, and if we’re so concerned about it, maybe we should be addressing the obvious low-hanging fruit of commercial signage. I’m not asking businesses to stop advertising, but for Pete’s sake, turn the knobs down from “11” at night.

DAVE KELLY

Coeur d’Alene