Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-22-2007, 03:22 AM
fil fil started this thread
 
364 posts, read 1,622,018 times
Reputation: 68

Advertisements

While relocating here from the East coast, the craziest thing that we noticed is that powerlines are everywhere in this city.

I've seen high voltage powerlines going straight through expensive neighborhoods and cell towers all over the place.

Why are people cool with homes surrounded by powerlines? Especially $600-$800k homes.

There have been tons of news reports on 60 Minutes, 20/20, and Dateline that warned of possible health issues and I know for a fact that living near a powerline in the East will hurt your home value and make resale that much more difficult.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-22-2007, 08:36 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,232 posts, read 35,410,327 times
Reputation: 8566
Well, you have to get power to those homes and high tension lines don't go underground. Also, this is one case where I think the poor equal the rich...the power company will put the power lines were they want and are not influenced completely (although they are somewhat) by the value of your house/property.

The health risk is an interesting topic, since some studies show a correlation to various cancers, while almost identical studies show no correlation, or a different study will show no correlation to the first study's cancer, but will show a correlation to a different one.

However, that is a better topic for the 'health' forum....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Hutto, Tx
9,249 posts, read 26,579,993 times
Reputation: 2851
We're currently fighting some high tension lines here in Hutto. They will cut through neighborhoods, etc. In much of the research that's been done by the mayor and city council here, they found that the lines can go underground. The reason the power companies don't want to do that is the cost. Although I'd rather pay a litte more than to look at the monstrosities. They are still fighting this, and the power companies are very stubborn to say the least.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 09:41 AM
 
6,578 posts, read 25,371,854 times
Reputation: 3249
We have them all over Dallas. I don't even notice them anymore. The city built a hike and bike trail under the ones near us. I looked up health risks and you have to be within so many feet of the wires and it was like 300 or 400 feet before it's a problem. Now we have had cell phone companies come in and shoot up their towers in the middle of the high wire tension towers.

I don't notice the water towers anymore either.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 10:04 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,232 posts, read 35,410,327 times
Reputation: 8566
The cost to put the HT lines underground is MUCH more expensive than stringing them up above ground. I understand not wanting them in the neighborhood, but I think it is more aesthetic than anything else.

From a CalPoly study (http://www.calpoly.edu/~dhafemei/background2.html): (broken link)

Quote:
$2 million/mile to bury transmission lines in fluid-filled steel pipes to reduce magnetic fields by 99%, $200 billion to bury transmission lines nationwide near homes with fields greater than 1 mG, $250 billion to reduce average exposure to less than 2 mG from all transmission and distribution lines.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 10:12 AM
 
1,334 posts, read 6,419,789 times
Reputation: 1060
Need to make sure the utility providers keep their enormous profits.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 10:48 AM
 
Location: WA
5,640 posts, read 24,849,524 times
Reputation: 6573
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
The cost to put the HT lines underground is MUCH more expensive than stringing them up above ground. I understand not wanting them in the neighborhood, but I think it is more aesthetic than anything else.
...
That is right... this fight goes on all the time but burying the lines at up to 60 times the cost would cost consumers a great deal of money... remember the consumer ultimately pays for any infrastructure change.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 05:32 PM
 
Location: Hutto, Tx
9,249 posts, read 26,579,993 times
Reputation: 2851
And most of the consumers I've talked to in Hutto would be glad to pay it (or so they say now). I'm sure if they were putting these things up in Cedar Park or Leander we'd be hearing from some angry homeowners, especially if they ran it through the same type areas they want to do here. They say it's more expensive, which I'm sure it is somewhat, but the lawyer Hutto hired is citing a study where a town did it, and it didn't cost as much as they are saying. A lot of it does have to do with aesthetics, but why is Hutto having to take on all the ugly stuff to benefit west of 35? People live here now. Who's gonna be able to sell anything with a humongous landfill and gigantic electricity transmitters running through downtown? I know that noone on this board has anything to do with this stuff, but I just have to vent. And it's not just me out here venting about it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 06:03 PM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
2,392 posts, read 9,614,605 times
Reputation: 806
I live off of 183 in Leander and they seem to have high tension lines all over the place here plus we have the train track about 3 blocks away..course the first few mornings that it blew the whistle at 615am was a joy with my 4 yr old running behind at 616am yelling at the top of his lungs that he heard Thomas the train. Fun the first weekend but sort of tired of it now...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2007, 06:24 PM
 
Location: Northern California
1,587 posts, read 3,900,876 times
Reputation: 541
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdelena View Post
That is right... this fight goes on all the time but burying the lines at up to 60 times the cost would cost consumers a great deal of money... remember the consumer ultimately pays for any infrastructure change.
EXCELLENT POINT!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top