A week from tomorrow, the Planning & Zoning Commission will review an amendment to allow lights on town athletic fields.
There will be provisions to limit the number of events held on the fields — which much be at least 20 acres, and include at least 200 parking spots — as well as permits for practices only until 9 p.m.
In years past, proposals like this have created Super Bowl-like interest. Supporters praised lights as the greatest thing since Genesis; detractors warned that lighted athletic fields would mean Armageddon.
This time around, there’s been barely a peep. Does that mean lights are an idea whose time has come?
Or, rather, an idea whose time has come in the midst of far darker concerns?
The Staples High School football field, without lights.
There will be much talk of this as the boards, commissions and town government hears the pros and cons. I see no cons…”Let there be Light” PLEASE!
We just moved here from Virginia where Friday nights were an important part of a high schoolers life, either playing in a Friday night football, baseball, soccer,or lacrosse game, or supporting the players that were playing. After that, the students all went to eat somewhere, another venue for socializing. Then they went home. The parents could all go to games becasue they were at night and not during the work week afternooon and were happy to know that our kids were at the high school and not bored, getting into trouble somewhere else. When we first moved here, we heard, “There’s nothing to do in Westport” from a lot of teenagers. Well if you’d let them have one weekend night a week to go to or play in high school sporting events, then at least they’ll have one night a weekend to be safe, and entertained, and not bored.