Cabled

Very, very slowly and without fanfare our streets, alleys and homes are being draped in cable. Much like kudzo in the southern part of the United States. Why is that? For one, communication utilities and those wires (those are the lowest hanging wires) are not required to remove out of use or unnecessary cables! So they pile up.

There are efforts in LB and in CA to step back and control the layering  of abandoned cables and wires.

• Belmont Hts Neighborhood Assn. (BHNA) is asking residents to call the Governor’s Office to stop a bill [SB 649]  that would eliminate local control of communication utilities.  It does so by limiting local governments’ control over the placement of wireless equipment and significantly reduces the fees cities can charge for the placement of this equipment.   It is essential to maintain local municipal oversight of these types of utilities, a critical protective role for  residents. https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov39mail/      then click on SB 649
• BHNA is also spearheading an effort to redefine ‘abandoned wire’. With our City Attorney’s office, they want to create a more accountable regulation to correct this impending  and unsafe eyesore.
• In the meantime, look up and see how many wires are coming from the utility pole into your house – for most households there should only be 2! A wire for electricity and one for communications.

As we understand the significance of this situation and what we can do to correct it we’ll send out additional posts. Questions? info@rpna.org