What should be done about streetlights in North Conway Village?

Thirty-three people answered this week's Tele-Talk question: “What should be done about streetlights in North Conway Village?” Twenty said the lights should be turned back on; five said to keep street lights off.

I've lived in North Conway permanently since 1996. Last night I went through the village — seven lights on, two people almost got hit. They have to walk on the side of the Red Jacket out in the street. Surprised something hasn't happened yet. And it's going to be on the blood of those selectmen.

Having read and discussed today's Tele-Talk during breakfast in the village with my family, our family votes for anything retro in the village. After skiing today, we'll dine here in the village and tomorrow after skiing we'll stop for a snack on the way home. So, we enjoy an older atmosphere that the village presents. No cobras please.

Well first the style of lights is really irrelevant. They should be energy saving; the LED seems to be the best bet. But they should be focused so that light goes where it needs to go so that people driving or the pedestrians can see what's going on instead of light going every which way. But the most important thing is that the lights should be on; every pole that has a light should be on.

Driving down the road, all of a sudden there's a pedestrian in front of you — you can't hardly see anything. The village, especially at the crosswalks — maybe there should be an extra light, some sort of a focused spotlight. To do otherwise is negligent and the blood will be on the people who make the decisions on this. Light the place up; you encourage people to come up here and shop even after dark.

It's our responsibility to make sure that people don't get hurt because they can't be seen. The strip is a problem as well with no lights or hardly any lights. The thing is there is so much light in the parking lots for businesses on each side that it makes the road almost impossible to see properly.

My comment about the streetlights in the village is that this is a perfect example of what happens when well-meaning people who don't know what they're talking about manage to get federal tax dollars for a project that is not needed, not wanted and ultimately now being rejected by the very people who asked for it. It's a good example of how not to run government.

I agree with Janice Crawford, we just want lights. Just last night going into town on the North-South Road from Artist Falls Road in the rainy mist, I counted at least 10 lights out along the road going into town. All we want is lights in the valley.

What should be done about the streetlights in North Conway? Leave them alone. Janice Crawford and the selectmen, people want starlight not streetlights. Be happy with the present fixtures which are partially paid for with federal funds. Many towns do wreaths and flags and personally I think it is very tacky.

We should stick with the classic look. Use LED lights if necessary, but isn't there enough lights from all the stores not to need bright street lights. Come on get together with it. Let's be a little more economical with it and shut the lights off. This is Barbara from Center Conway.