Lanes of Peachtree Road to close for months as crews move utility poles (power lines, homes)

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Both I'd say, GDOT for not having a spine and telling GA Power to do it at night, or they'd hire someone else to do it

GA Power owns the equipment; its not up to GDOT to "hire someone else" to do it.

[MattCW]

It's in their RoW though. Just like if you have something on your property you don't want there, you can legally tell the owner "move it or I will."

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by MattCW

It's in their RoW though. Just like if you have something on your property you don't want there, you can legally tell the owner "move it or I will."

Utility companies have an easement over or under where their lines run. This means that, while they don't own a portion of a property, they do have rights to access and use of that portion of a property. "Move it or I will" is what a utility could tell you if you build something on their easement [I recall there was a thread in this subforum about a homeowner's newly buried sprinkler system that got dug up by a utility needing access to their equipment].

[Gulch]

Does no one else realize that GDOT is moving many of the poles to be in the middle of the sidewalk? Talk about a big F.U. to pedestrians!

[citydwelling]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Does no one else realize that GDOT is moving many of the poles to be in the middle of the sidewalk? Talk about a big F.U. to pedestrians!

I was just about to say -- the rest of y'all are worried about the wrong thing. GDOT is going to make it possible to safely drive your car up onto the sidewalk but not possible to safely navigate a wheelchair down the sidewalk.

[jsvh]

Yep. So stupid.

"When that utility pole is right on the road's edge, you don't have any space to correct and get back on the road, could hit that pole and cause severe injury or death,” said GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale.

That "correction space" is where pedestrians are supposed to be. We are literally designing streets so drivers will be safe if they drive up the sidewalk into a crowd of pedestrians. The efforts to protect drivers first goes so far as to protect them while they are running down pedestrians. Any wonder roads designed like this don't feel comfortable to walk down?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Does no one else realize that GDOT is moving many of the poles to be in the middle of the sidewalk? Talk about a big F.U. to pedestrians!

The one example they gave was at the edge of sidewalk

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Does no one else realize that GDOT is moving many of the poles to be in the middle of the sidewalk? Talk about a big F.U. to pedestrians!

Originally Posted by citydwelling

I was just about to say -- the rest of y'all are worried about the wrong thing. GDOT is going to make it possible to safely drive your car up onto the sidewalk but not possible to safely navigate a wheelchair down the sidewalk.

Originally Posted by jsvh

Yep. So stupid.

Do you guys have a source for this? The article didn't say this, and I would highly doubt they are planning to move the poles into the middle of the sidewalk. If true, I'll be angry right there with you. But I didn't see anything to indicate this.

That "correction space" is where pedestrians are supposed to be. We are literally designing streets so drivers will be safe if they drive up the sidewalk into a crowd of pedestrians. The efforts to protect drivers first goes so far as to protect them while they are running down pedestrians. Any wonder roads designed like this don't feel comfortable to walk down?

Utility poles are every hundred or more feet apart down the road. Do you really see that as a safety barrier for pedestrians? The poles being on the edge of the road or 5' from the road makes zero difference in pedestrian safety. Maybe 1%. But, moving the poles protects not only a driver who might hit the pole from a small swerve, but also protects the utility. A pole getting knocked can bring service down for power, phone, internet, cable, and others, and require extensive work to repair. Why would you not protect these assets?

Have you ever been behind a bus or a truck on a small road with poles 6" off the side of the road. It always terrifies me as these vehicles lean to much due to road curvature, and it always looks like they're going to hit the poles.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

Do you guys have a source for this? The article didn't say this, and I would highly doubt they are planning to move the poles into the middle of the sidewalk. If true, I'll be angry right there with you. But I didn't see anything to indicate this.

There are markings on the sidewalk (shown in the WSB-TV piece) indicate where each pole is going. GDOT is using a standard distance of moving the poles back 4 feet from their existing locations, and some of them would thus be moved onto the sidewalk.

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by cqholt

So wait, y'all want underground utilities (which I know this project is not that, but would involve closures) and are going to complain when they have to shut down lanes to perform the work?

Originally Posted by Gulch

Does no one else realize that GDOT is moving many of the poles to be in the middle of the sidewalk? Talk about a big F.U. to pedestrians!

In seeing this thread and reading it. Not knowing all details of course.

It's REDICULOUS not to place the wires underground. No city wants these ugly blemishes to boast rising stature.

I ABHORE seeing poles in vibrant areas and fronts of residences. Newer construction keeping them in fronts..... is stupid. Spend the extra cost and DO IT AESTHETICALLY MORE PLEASING as a end result... U N D E R G R O U N D. Doesn't matter where a UGLY POLE is placed on a sidewalk. IT'S A BLEMISH to PUT NEW ONES IN FOR THIS LONG PROJECT.

Just my opinion as I HATE again, seeing these poles in newer areas especially.