City Replaces Downtown Fixtures To Reduce Light Pollution

EL PASO — The city of El Paso has begun replacing about 800 light fixtures Downtown as part of a nearly two-million-dollar initiative to reduce light pollution, city officials said Wednesday.

The city will replace streets lights in the Union Plaza District and Stanton, Texas, El Paso and Kansas streets.

The new fixtures are designed to reflect light downward, preventing light form shining upwards obscuring the night sky, officials said.

The work will not require street lane closures, city officials said.

The project is estimated to take nine months to complete. The project is being funded through the Palo Verde Award grant the city received from the El Paso Electric Company.

The project is part of the Dark Sky Compliance ordinance, which went into effect in May 2005, that mandates that all non exempted existing outdoor lighting fixtures be brought into compliance by May 7, 2015. The ordinance was intended to minimize excessive outdoor lighting and encourage energy efficiency.