By DON STINE
Bulbs on new lighting fixtures recently installed along Broadway in Ocean Grove, which some residents said are too bright, will all be replaced.
“We will put the new light bulbs in but we will then draw the line there,” Committeeman Eric Houghtaling said at Monday’s Neptune Township Committee workshop.
While many Ocean Grove residents welcome new lighting along Broadway, it may be too bright for some. Residents have complained that the light shines onto houses more than onto the street or sidewalk and is too harsh for the neighborhood.
Residents presented the governing body with a 98-signature petition complaining about the 18 new lights, which have been on for more than four months. The lights are in the center grassy median centered down Broadway.
The former lights used to be amber-colored but the new lights emit a blue-white color that is too intense and residents have called it “light pollution.”
Township Business Administrator Vito Gadaleta said a “warmer LED light” was placed on first eastern block of Broadway but some residents said they could not judge its effect properly with the placement of only one light and wanted more test lights before making a decision.
The Township Committee, in turn, has directed the engineering department to replace all of the bulbs in all of the new light fixtures along Broadway at a cost of about $4,900.
“These bulbs should be closer to the yellow glow emitted by the old light fixture bulbs,” he said.
Once the new light bulbs are installed, however, the township plans to take no further action.
“This is it – we are doing this once – and once only,” Committeeman Randy Bishop said.
He said some residents said they like the brighter bulbs but that they will all be changed anyway.
