So the light only bothers you in the summer and fall??? Why not see if the city can position the light so it does not shine directly on your house.

Drummond Maple would be nice choice and they grow pretty fast. Or I would consider a pine of some kind or a cluster of pines. You probably are best to simply do light blocking window treatments on the rooms on that side of the house that need them. If you do try the city, ask for a light that is a "down" light designed to limit light spread. Good luck with that in Chicago! lol

The light always bothers me, but mostly in the Summer and Fall because it drowns out my accent lighting. In the winter, everything is covered in snow. :) I looked at some pictures of the Drummond Maple...really nice looking tree! Thank you for the suggestion!

I would check w/city or electric co to make sure place where you plan to Plant is not in the way of wiring, etc. not optimistic that they’d move light. Where would they move it, nextdoor to bright up your neighbor’s house? I once lived behind a hospital. Not only were the sirens disrupting, but the lighting was absolutely blinding. Now I know why my super fancy place was such a steal, ha.

Here the neighbor across the street had the brand new streetlight shining directly into their bedroom windows at night--very bright, even with curtains drawn. Neighbor called the county. The county came out and put a shade attachment on the light so the light went down towards the street instead of into the neighbor's windows. Problem solved.

Yes, most utility companies will attach a shade to reduce the glare into your house. Give them a call.

The city is never going to move a light. They might adjust the luminaire, or place a shade or similar, but they're not going to move a fixture or pole.

I, too, have had this problem (around Atlanta). The power company came out and their solution was to not-at-all-carefully apply spray paint to the inside of the globe, on the offending side. It worked fine. No one would notice the paint except those who knew it was there.

Ralph, call the city first and see if they can adjust the light or put a shade attachment on it for you. planting a tree will take a few years to get big enough, unless you want to spend the bucks for a mature tree.

Check with your town. They can install shades inside the light fixture that will solve that problem. Here in center city Philadelphia, many historic street lights are right outside the 2nd floor windows of houses, but there is a shade in the light to block that.

But go ahead and plant the tree anyway. Trees are good. But yes, stay away from Bradford pears/Callery pears and Norway maples. Very weak. Philadelphia won't allow Bradford pears to be planted along the streets or any city property any more because of their problems and short lives.

If you still want a tree, ask on the Tree forum--very knowledgeable people.

I guess I used the wrong word not move but adjust or shade this is done fairly often in cities.

Agree the city should help you.

As for the Cleveland Pear I live in a cold harsh climate and I planted them lining the driveway. They grow rather quickly, keep a nice shape and no issues in 4 years with them.

Whatever path you choose - contacting the city to alter/modify the light OR planting a tree to shade - please do NOT plant a Bradford or Cleveland or any type of callery pear!! In addition to their other undesirable attributes (flowers stink, weak wooded and subject to breakage), they are a huge invasive problem just about anywhere they are planted. They are just a highly ill-advised choice and there are so many other, better possibilities.

My Cleveland Pears don't have any odor to them?? I live a few houses from Lake Erie and we get hellacious winds, driving rain and a lot of snow. No issues at all. Then again, I'm in zone 6.

The Problem with Callery Pears

What's That Smell?

The Curse of the Bradford Pear

Porter Edun, you should know that the problem with pears is not when they're young. It's when they enter middle age. Just when they start looking mature, they frequently split in half.

Given the location, I wouldn't expect Porter Edun's trees to suddenly split in half, so much as I would expect them to start losing major branches until there is nothing left.

You're going to be waiting many years for a newly planted tree to have any significant effect on a street light.

Well, with the 80 mile an hour winds we can get off the lake so far I guess I've been lucky even though they are larger than what is shown in the photo now? Thankfully, we will move in the next year or so :) They are beautiful, keep a nice shape and they line the streets all over our community and are fairly large/older trees. Hence, I chose them for the shape and what was recommended for me to plant up the drive.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Def familiarize yourself with the tree code. Super frustrating to plant a tree because they let you do that, only to learn that you will now need a permit to prune or remove, and but will be required to prune according that code. Double whammy.