Bridge Lights

It was nice to see the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro (Metro, Nov. 7). However, I don’t understand why people want to illuminate the cables.

The lighting of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is a much different situation than what we have here. There the bridge can be seen from many places in the bay area. In San Pedro, the Vincent Thomas Bridge can only be seen from a small area nearby.

My main concern is that there are many negatives that would accompany this move. First, the taxpayers would most likely have to pay for the continuing maintenance and the cost of the electricity for the lights. The additional power required for the lights will cause increased air pollution from the local fuel-oil burning power stations. The lights will also cause increased light pollution in the already “glowing” harbor sky, where even on a clear night you can only see a few bright stars.

It is clear to me that to add decorative lights to the Vincent Thomas Bridge would be another boondoggle and would do much more harm than good. I hope that the people who are raising funds to light the bridge will reconsider and use the money for something more useful, such as to help the homeless or to fight crime in the harbor area.

BILL SOUDER

Rancho Palos Verdes