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Open Thread: What do you think of the Ford Field lights?

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Light pollution? Illuminating? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Welcome to Friday Open Threads, wherein we'll pass the mic to readers to speak up about topics of interest, distress, horror, and more. Have something you want discussed? Let us know. This week’s topic: Purple haze.

Much has been said in the past few months about the 60,000+ LED streetlights across the city. Now we’ve moved on to a different discussion and one we’ve been meaning to have for a while. Detroit’s been lit this week with debates over the blue/purple lights of Ford Field. The Detroit News published a scathing editorial on how the very bright lights create light pollution over the entire downtown (they can be seen for miles). Depending on the weather, you can see the lights from Dearborn and other suburbs. With the new arena opening soon, is this too much? Margo Dalal writes,

“Ford Field should be more responsible. In fact, it’s the law. According to the General Illumination Standard in the Detroit Zoning Ordinance (Sec. 61-14-278), “All reasonable measures shall be taken to ensure that the off-site spillover of light and nightglow are minimized to the greatest extent possible.”

A petition was started by Dalal asking Ford Field to comply with the city ordinance.

So Curbed readers, we ask you — what do you think of these lights? They are on all night, every night. Is that overkill? Should they save them for weekends, game days, or special events? Or should they tone it down? Is it light pollution in your eyes, or is it kind of pretty?

As always, let us know what you think in the comments.