SFB LC CONCERNED ABOUT WINDOW SHADE CONDITION. POOR SHADE CONDITION OBSCURES CTLRS VISION OF TFC ON RWY 9R/27L.

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AFTER BEING A CONTROLLER FOR 23 YEARS; I HAVE FEARED THAT THE FAA WILL NOT ACT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. THIS REPORT CONCERNS THE OLD TOWER SHADES AT SFB. DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY; IT IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE ACFT ON RWY 9R/27L. RWY 9R/27L IS THE TOUCH AND GO/STOP AND GO RWY. AS WE ARE A TRAINING BASE FOR AN AVIATION ACADEMY; QUITE OFTEN; STUDENTS WILL BE CLEARED FOR A TOUCH AND GO; YET DO A STOP AND GO. THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSED OPERATIONAL ERRORS. MY FEAR IS THAT ONE WILL HAPPEN BEFORE THE FAA FINDS THE MONEY TO EITHER CLEAN OR REPLACE THE TOWER SHADES. THE FAA HAS TERMINATED THE UCR PROGRAM; SO CONTROLLERS HAVE NO OTHER WAY TO ADDRESS SAFETY OF FLIGHT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR ADVISED THAT FAA HAS PLACED SFB TWR AS NUMBER 2 ON THE FAA REGIONS LIST FOR EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT. CTLR STATED THAT WHEN THE WINDOW SHADES ARE UTILIZED; CTLRS LOG THE EVENT BY STATING VISION OBSCURATION IN THE DIRECTION OF RWY 9R/27L. THE CTLR STATED THAT RWY 9R/27L IS PREDOMINANTLY USED BY PLT TRAINING ACADEMIES. SFB TWR HAS CHANGED FROM NUMBER 26 IN U.S. ARPT TFC COUNT STANDING TO 19. WITH THE MULTIPLE RWY OPERATION; HAVING TO SPEND 'A LOT OF TIME' LOOKING FOR TFC; AND SEQUENCING TFC THROUGH OBSCURING WINDOW SHADES; BECOMES A REAL TEST OF A CTLRS SKILL. THE RPTR ADVISED THAT ALL CTLRS ARE VERY CONCERNED THAT THEY WILL 'MISS SOMETHING' BECAUSE OF THE WINDOW SHADE PROB.