New Lights Approved for Water Tower Field

The Planning and Zoning Commission gave the go ahead Tuesday night for the Recreation Department to install additional lights on the Water Tower Field at Waveny Park.

Three new light towers will be added to the existing tower over the turf field, which will be moved from the center of the turf field to the corner. There will be 38 fixtures shining on the turf field and 10 on the adjacent grass practice field.

During his presentation to the commission, Recreation Director Steve Benko heralded the "Light-Structure Green" technology which will keep the new lights focused down onto the fields with "very little spillover" and no halo in the sky above them, so they shouldn't bother any neighbors.

Benko said the new lights will be a big improvement over the portable light towers (like those used for construction) which the teams have been using for the last few seasons.

The new lights will be set to turn off automatically after the end of games and practices—at 8:30 p.m. for football in the fall, around 9:00 for lacrosse in the spring. Coaches and parents will be able to control one tower with a timer on site to provide up to an hour of light while players are packing up and leaving.

New Canaan's football and lacrosse leagues raised the $143,000 needed to purchase and install the new lights. The lighting will benefit hundreds of kids in youth football, flag football, and youth lacrosse programs, as well as youth soccer teams which use the fields for weekend games.

The installation will take about three days and should be completed by the time it gets dark in October.