To the editor:

The Journal-World should be commended for the fine article and the follow-up editorial on the lighting of Kasold.

City staff stated that there are some residents that prefer the lights.

In fact, all of the occupied homes that back up to Kasold in this area have objected to the lighting. Many fronting on Kasold have also objected.

At the inception of the project, light pollution concerns were raised by nearby residents. City staff promised, in a June 23, 2005, memorandum, “The street lights will be relocated to behind the curb and gutter and positioned (focused) outward to the street. City codes do not allow for light to spill across the property line, therefore Westar will develop a photometric plan that will meet City code for new street lights.”

Imagine our shock in late June when our homes were illuminated outside and inside by the lighting. The level of the light and the resulting waste of energy was unprecedented in Lawrence.

When Marge Banks talked to a Westar representative, he said “that is a lot of light out there. That was not our call, it was the city’s.”

City staff has blamed it on Westar and acknowledged that the folks selling us the energy dictate how much energy the city uses.

We in the neighborhood are asking that the city of Lawrence honor the promise they made in the beginning. The reduction of energy use will also reduce the city’s “carbon footprint.”

Price Banks,

Lawrence