Blinding lights no more: Marion Maritime Center lights finally dimmed
The Harbormaster's Office and the Maritime Center are located at 1 Wharf Island Road. 
The staircases remain well lit with no excess light blinding boaters or residents. 
The lights have been dimmed all around the building. 
Residents and the Select Board seem pleased with the solutions so far.
The Harbormaster's Office and the Maritime Center are located at 1 Wharf Island Road.
The staircases remain well lit with no excess light blinding boaters or residents.
The lights have been dimmed all around the building.
Residents and the Select Board seem pleased with the solutions so far.
MARION — After months of complaints from Marion residents, the lights on the Maritime Center and Harbormaster’s office have been dimmed.
At a Marion Select Board meeting Tuesday, Oct. 29, Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman presented the dimmed lights to the Board outside of the Harbormaster’s office located at 1 Wharf Island Road.
“I think we've got a good compromise between safety and lights spill over,” Gorman said.
Residents previously expressed their concerns at a Board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16 reporting that the lights on the outside of the Marion Maritime Center to be too bright, shining into resident’s windows and blinding boaters as they come into Sippican Harbor.
This issue has been going on for about a year since the initial building phases of the new Harbormaster office. The Board, Gorman and residents have worked together to compromise on a solution that keeps the area safe, but does not disturb residents.
Gorman explained that they dimmed the lights in the Island Wharf parking lot by changing the lamp posts to gooseneck light fixtures that direct the light directly downwards onto the parking lot, reducing excess light pollution.
“We had to run that fine line between keeping the lights as dim as possible but also maintaining safety,” Gorman said.
Gorman and the Select Board found that most of the lights polluting the area were decorative.
Dimmers were placed on the LED lights illuminating the building signage, so boaters can see the signs, but are not blinded by them.
The most problematic lights were around the skirt of the building. Some of the lights were removed while others had boxes placed over them to direct the lighting onto the pavement and staircase.
As Gorman gave the Select Board a tour of the outside of the building he said, “We're trying to prevent outward movement and now [the staircase lights are] shining straight down and still providing a safe illumination of the stairway.”
Gorman concluded, “I was happy we were able to get this done without major changes to the building and we didn't have to go back to the town to ask for money to do so.”
