Why Are So Many Bend Streets Left in Dark?
Many Central Oregon neighborhoods are not lit up at night, causing some concern for families, people out on late dog walks and bike riders, among others. Stargazers are happy to say Central Oregon remains a prime spot for viewing, thanks to some special laws, but is it worth the worry?
“Recently, we’ve had a significant rash of people hit by vehicles, and we have bikes and pedestrians and what not crossing traffic,” Bend police Lt. Brian Kindel said.
From a bird’s eye view, like the top of Pilot or Awbrey buttes, Bend looks like it’s full of light. But at street level, many neighborhoods are almost pitch black.
“You just got to pay attention and assume you’re probably going to get hit by somebody, so use that as motivation to be very very careful,” Kindel said.
Bend police have seen a spike in pedestrian car accidents. The lack of light can be a big problem, Kindel said it’s ultimately up to walkers and drivers to be responsible.
“When people go out at night, they’re not always thinking, ‘I’m going to wear a reflective vest,'” Kindel said. “So they’re wearing dark clothing in a non-lit area, and it’s just dynamite. A vehicle traveling at 45 miles per hour, by they time they apply the brakes at that speed, it’s often times too late.”
The lack of light is not by mistake. Almost a decade ago, many Bend residents and businesses rallied together, and both the city and Deschutes County passed lighting ordinances. It focuses on shedding light where it’s most important, toward the ground, and not wasting it blasting into the night sky, or driver’s eyes.
“We focus on crosswalks, we focus on more about safety, so the person driving the vehicle is able to see pedestrians,” said Nick Arnis, the city’s transportation manager.
The city is only given a set budget when it comes to maintaining street lights, so they focus on places where there’s higher traffic and faster speeds. As Central Oregon continues to grow, Arnis said there are no plans to light streets or add more stop lights.
“We probably wouldn’t be lining streets with street lights,” Arnis said. “It really does come down to cost. It’s a significantly higher cost to come back in, and build trenches for a bunch of street lights.”
The city’s and county’s lighting ordinances also focus on preserving the night sky. Sunriver Nature Observatory Manager Robert Grossfeld said the light in Bend pollutes the sky as it is.
“It’s certainly not enough to destroy our viewing,” Grossfeld said. “But for an education tool, it’s excellent to show folks what a small town, or a city can do to the night sky.”
Without street lights on every corner, and dark neighborhoods, people are able to see the Milky Way shine bright.
“Here in Central Oregon, we’re really fortunate to have these types of skies where you can actually see something,” Grossfeld said. “People come from Seattle or Portland or LA and they see the Milky Way — and we take it for granted. Most people in other states or other countries don’t see it at all.”
For stargazers, the darkness is a blessing. While city officials admit the streets of Bend are dark, there’s no future plan to shed light on the problem.
