TUCSON, Ariz. – To anyone driving the city streets of Tucson around sunset, an orange glow is not uncommon. But at night another orange glow lights parts of the city: high-pressure sodium lights.

These lights are one of the two different types used to illuminate Tucson's baseball and softball fields, but in the future they may be replaced with LED fixtures.

According to Parks and Recreation electrician Ken Kalthoff, the lights used in city parks are either the blue, metal halide light or, more typically in Tucson, the orange-tinted, high-pressure sodium light.

“Of all our lights, it's (high-pressure sodium light) the most efficient in terms of less fixtures and giving off the most light,” Kalthoff said.

Many parks, such as Joaquin Murrieta Park at 1400 N. Silverbell Road, have both the orange-tinted, high-pressure sodium lights and the less energy-efficient metal halide lights.

Light-emitting diode lights, or LED lights, last longer than the high-pressure sodium lights currently in use.

City Councilman Steve Leal has been pushing for LED lights for months now, especially after he learned of the potential economic impact the lights will have in Los Angeles.

“L.A. is in the process of changing 140,000 streetlights," Leal said. He cited the amount of electricity and money that L.A. can save by switching to LED streetlights as the main reason he would want to switch them in Tucson.


Doug Crockett, an energy manager for the city, said there are already LED lights in place at the Sixth Avenue underpass downtown and at the parking lot of the Price Service Center on the South Side. This lighting was put in place to determine how well LED lights would work, Crockett said.

The switch would be difficult because of the cost involved.

“The driving force is energy savings. We're in a big budget crunch right now,” Crockett said.

The city would have to purchase new LED lights, or inductive lights, and then replace all the existing metal halide lights and the high-pressure sodium lights.

Tucson Parks and Recreation Director Fred Gray has his concerns about making the switch to LED lights at this time.

“LED, I’m not sure it's appropriate at this time, I’m not sure the technology is there yet,” Gray said.

Leal is ready for a transition in Tucson as soon as possible, starting with the streetlights, which could save the city money and energy. Leal said that the city should have more money in the lighting budget, and that officials are currently developing proposals for more energy-efficient lights.

Leal will continue to push for the LED fixtures because, he said, it is "a proven industry."