I could see the Milky Way in this part of North Carolina as a child. That changed with the advent of those orange sodium vapor streetlights. The old blue ones didn’t cast such a glow.
Well the blue mercury vapor lights are being phased out. LED street lights offer a lot of versatility and the ability to control where the light shines...and they now cost out better than other lights. The city skylines should be getting a bit dimmer as fixtures are replaced.