We are excited to shine a light on (see what we did there?) some important streetlight upgrades coming to Sterling Ranch. In order to reduce light pollution, adhere to environmentally-friendly standards, and enhance the community quality of life, we will be dimming the streetlights after 10 pm beginning on August 20th. As a reminder, please see your emails and STEWARD Notifications about this for more info; the dimming does not include lights on Titan Road.
What to expect
Beginning on August 20th, streetlights will come on at full illumination at dusk each evening. At 10pm, streetlights will automatically dim to 50% illumination for the rest of the night, then turn off at sunrise each morning.
The dimming to 50% will not be noticeable on the street. It will, however, reduce the ambient glare of the light source and will use less energy. While the glare will be reduced, additional shadows (or increased darkness) will not result.
Dark Sky Initiative
The Dark Sky Initiative is an environmentally-friendly campaign to reduce light pollution. Gaining attention and momentum across the country, the initiative promotes the use of light fixtures that cast little (or no) light upwards toward the night sky. These changes allow residents a better view of the stars and translate to better functionality of our bodies’ circadian rhythms.
Our light fixtures are officially certified as Dark Sky Compliant, meaning they minimize upward glare, reduce ambient glare, and decrease light trespass and skyglow. We are proud to be on the cutting edge of this exterior lighting design movement.
How to report an issue
Residents should contact the CAB Info Desk (303-882-7603) to report a streetlight outage. For any emergency situations (fallen streetlights, etc.), residents should contact the CAB Emergency Number: 800-274-3165.
We are excited to fulfill one of our promises made to the County early in the entitlement process, to be a part of the Dark Sky Initiative, and to keep Sterling Ranch on the cutting edge of technology and environmental stewardship.
Emerging Technologies
These changes are part of wider technological initiatives related to the streetlights in Sterling Ranch, including upcoming Wi-Fi in certain outdoor areas, and connected emergency notification systems. These streetlights are subtle yet smart. For example, the system that maintains the lighting and dimming schedule also has the ability to control LED color change-able lights mounted on top of each street light – called an RGB (Red, Green, & Blue) Beacon – and speakers mounted on the light poles.
With the press of a button, Sterling Ranch will be able to notify residents of emergencies such as severe weather alerts, turning the RGB beacons a set color and playing instructions on how to stay safe over the speakers. These emergency notifications are a future capability that will be coordinated with the Douglas County mass notification system, called Code Red. Using the same system, we will be able to set up custom wayfinding configurations, helping people attending events in our community know where to go and what to do. We are working with Douglas County to activate this functionality. Be on the lookout for upcoming tests of this system.
The streetlights are just one way we at Sterling Ranch remain at the forefront of environmental sustainability, technological efficiency, and residential quality of life. We value your input as well. Check out more information about our Community Authority Board.