1. Bringing back the Night Sky: Lighting In Toronto Parks Peter Hiscocks, RASC 12 August 2010

2. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Mandate: to stimulate interest and increase knowledge in astronomy 29 Centres across Canada 4000 members, 700 in the Toronto Centre 2 Meetings per month, 2 sky observing sessions, activities at the David Dunlap Observatory

3. The Great Blackout, August 2003 Photo credit Todd Carlson, Goodwood ON

4. Light Pollution Map

5. Toronto at Night

6. Skyglow over Calgary

7. What can you see?

8. Solar Observing

9. Active Sun

10. Evening Observing

14. Toronto parks are an excellent venue for viewing the night sky. Accessible by the public, safe, good sight lines....

15. ...except for the problem of obtrusive light and glare

16. Lighting Issues Glare from unshielded fixtures: Top-Hat and Wall-Pack Unattended and unshielded sports lighting Car headlights

17. Withrow Park Soccer Field

19. 'Top Hat' Light Standard

20. Top Hat Light Standard

21. Withrow Park Glare Problem

22. Defining Glare Glare: contrast lowering effect of stray light in a visual scene. Glare forms a veil of luminance which reduces the contrast and thus decreases the visibility of a target. We cannot see intensity differences efficiently in the presence of a high background of light intensity. The sensitivity to glare is amplified with age as scattering in cornea or lens increases.

23. Solution Full-cutoff fixture that directs light downward

24. Boardwalk Lamp

25. Boardwalk Lamp Coverage

28. Wall Pack Problem Light

29. Wall-Pack Problem Light

32. Colonel Samuel Smith Park

34. Full Cut-off Illuminators of the Night Energy efficient too!

35. Unattended/Unshielded Sports Lighting

36. Withrow Park Skating Rink

37. Rink Night Shot: No People

38. Rink Night Shot

39. Beach Pool Lighting

40. Beach Pool Fixture Closeup

41. Beach Pool Lighting

42. Chicago Study on Lighting and Crime

43. Recommendations

45. High Park Proposed Viewing Site

46. High Park Baseball Diamond

48. High Park Recommendations Control baseball lighting with vegetation barrier Add shielding to Tennis Court lights Replace Wall-Packs with cutoff fixtures High Park Recommendations

50. Withrow Park Viewing Sites

51. Withrow Park Recommendations Replace 'Top-Hat' fixtures with full-cutoff Extinguish arena lamps when not being used

53. Marie-Curtis Viewing Site

54. Marie-Curtis Recommendations Replace 'Top-Hat' fixtures with full-cutoff Berm or foliage between parking lot and observing site Avoid Wall-Packs in building resdesigns

55. Overview and Summary Park lighting is a mix: some effective, some problematic Energy efficiency and light pollution can be reduced with modified or new fixtures With minor fixes, parks could become much more hospitable to public sky observing activities

56. The Payoff Hundreds of Torontonians get an introduction to the night sky. Parks and Rec credited for first 'Urban sky park' areas in North America. Aligns with Parks Canada, 12 dark sky preserves