One of the most ubiquitous and annoying features of Downtown Silver Spring streets is the lowly utility pole. Aside from carrying power and communication, these poles cover Silver Spring like a pin-cushion – where they cause all kinds of grief for pedestrians.
The unofficial symbol for Silver Spring should be the tilted and twisted utility pole. The sculpture at Gateway Park on Fenton st evokes the poles – as if to highlight their prominent (unavoidable) place in our community. They are a major obstacle in so many places
Today I discovered that white “Xs” had been painted on a number of utility poles on my street. I have been complaining about these poles for a while now, so I am hoping that the pole are slated for replacement. I just hope that PEPCO is planning to replace them with something modern and ADA compliant. Lines on these poles have burst into flames and dropped to the ground twice within the last year. If someone had been beneath them when they fell, well, no telling what might have happened.
MCDOT just recently completed the first round of pedestrian improvements on Sligo. I hope that PEPCO and Montgomery County will take this opportunity to do the right thing – the SMART GROWTH thing – and replace these poles with better, ADA compliant infrastructure..
No comments:
Post a Comment