Reservoir Hill Park

Around 2021, 2022, I drafted up a proposal to present to the city of Staunton VA, city elected officials, and stakeholders in the historic downtown neighborhood of New Town. Reservoir Hill Park site higher than most any other point in the city with few neighboring homes or street lights which gets it above most of the direct light glare of street lights and other artificial lighting. This point offers a very pleasant vantage point for in-town astronomy and stargazing.

A Urban Night Sky Place is a area that cannot meet the very high standards of Dark Sky Places but are used to promote and advocate for better lighting polices and practices and give people a marketed and dedicated place for community members to go, gather and enjoy the night sky, stars, and in-town astronomy or astrophotography.

I pressed the city several times, pressed several city council members directly and it just isn't a project that generates any sort of activation in a meaningful way. Staunton has proven to a be a very particular city to live in and try to get involved in at the community level in ways I was familiar with in other places I have lived in the past, which is unfortunate. Most will find Staunton a very charming and enjoyable place to live regardless if they have any local ties to the area or not, especially if you're a passive community member as far as being engaged. People who really like to get heavily involved in their community or want to try to make a difference where support from the city and other key stakeholders is really the only path forward, those types of people will likely find Waynesboro a far more enjoyable place to live and invest in.

For now, Staunton will continue to sit on this low hanging fruit and not do anything with it. Without a doubt, a different nearby community will jump on the opportunity to get a IDA Urban Night Sky place long before Staunton will ever get to it. The chances that I'll be involved with that are very high as I've already spoke to two different communities in the area interested in pursuing a IDA UNSP designation.

You can download and view the most recent proposal I have for this project, below.