I would like to shed some light on a few things

I was walking my dog one evening in our neighborhood and a bicyclist came by at high speed. It was pitch dark and, although he had some sort of lighting mechanism, I did not see him until he was almost passed me. The scary part is my dog attempted to chase him. Had the leash been any longer, I am confident there would have been a collision. The guy on the bike had every right to be zooming along, just as I had every right to be walking my dog. The problem is we do not have adequate lighting by the roads.

I have observed the placement of the lantern lights along Mission Drive and Tolomato Drive and it appears to me that the planners had intended to place alternating posts on the east and west sides of the roads but only completed one side. My reasoning is based on the fact that they are simply spread too far apart for adequate lighting. It would make sense to light the paths of both roadsides. Installing street lights between each of the current ones would not over light the area because there is no overlap. When I say it is pitch dark in most areas, I mean just that.

Last year, three neighborhood pet cats disappeared in an approximate 3 week period. My guess is a predatory animal took advantage of our dimly lit neighborhood. Hear me out on this one; Our precious fox family likes to visit the park behind my home at night and, although it sounds as if a heinous crime is taking place, I know they are up to fox games. The problem, as I see it, is they would not be so annoying and disturbing if the area had better lighting, They need to keep their bold selves safe at night. A panther could be waiting for them. I believe better lighting would deter predatory animals from freely roaming our roads AND yards.

I came across the causeway tonight and a raccoon scurried from the fish pond side to the creek side. It is pitch dark, there are no roadside lights. He made it passed me BEFORE I saw him. Glad I did not run over him or worse, swerve to miss him and happen on a bicyclist or pedestrian.

In my opinion, ALL, areas in our neighborhood deserve adequate lighting. It doesn't matter if it is "subdivision" or gravel road (subject for another "blog").

I like to play Pickleball occasionally and the courts are pitch black at night. As you know, dark happens before 6 pm when time changes. There are two corner lights on the club house, facing the court, that have been disabled. People who work simply can't play in the evening. I seriously doubt these lights disrupt anyone, no more than the streetlights do. The lights are far enough from people's home. The designers of our community, who I think we can all agree possessed rare and exceptional talent and vision, placed the lights there for a purpose and planned surrounding lots accordingly. I wondered tonight if there are any other associations as poorly lit as ours. I will take this opportunity to add that recreation is as important as other pursuits (subject for yet another "blog").

I have spoken to a board member about this and the person was very interested in the subject, I just want to get the discussion going and encourage interest in this upgrade.

In closing, I am going to add two pictures. Both pictures are from the same spot. One is with a flash and one is not. The one with the flash shows that I am standing very close to a road sign in our neighborhood. The one without the flash is totally dark, black, one can see nothing, if I am unable to add the pictures here, I will upload them on the "get to know your neighbor " pages.

Thank you,

Elaine Day