There are growing concerns that bright store signs at the Ira Needles Boardwalk won't only obscure the night sky, but will also disrupt sleep patterns and increase the cost of electricity.

Local astronomers have long been concerned about the light pollution that makes it hard to see the stars, but they say it's a problem for more than just people who love telescopes.

Steve Holmes is the president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Royal Astronomical Society. He says "the biggest issue we find that relates to light pollution is that it is totally unnecessary. In the U.S. statistics were that one third of all the energy that's generated for lighting is wasted light, and that amounts to more than $1 billion a year."

Meanwhile, taxpayer dollars aren't paying for the Boardwalk's lights, and developer Greg Voisin says the signs will only be lit from dusk until closing time.

He adds that the long-term goal is for storefronts to have lighting that faces the central road, not the residents nearby.

Voisin agrees that the Empire Theatre's signs need to be toned down, but says the rest of the property's lighting levels are acceptable.

He compares the development to Cambridge's Hespeler Road, "You have one up by Erb Street and another down towards Highland Road in Kitchener. So over a distance of maybe four or five kilometers you've got seven signs, and over that distance on Hespeler Road you probably have 100 or 150 signs."

The developers of the Ira Needles Boardwalk have the added challenge of meeting the zoning regulations and guidelines of the City of Waterloo, City of Kitchener and Region of Waterloo since it stretches across the two cities.

Ryan Mounsey is a development planner with the City of Waterloo, he says "lighting becomes another part of the development review process, but it doesn't fall under the detailed development approval process, it's part of the sign by-law process, and each city has their own sign by-laws."

He says by-laws address the size, location and timing of lighting, but not the intensity.

However, planners are now working on a set of master sign guidelines to address lighting levels.

So far residents nearby say the lighting has not been a problem.