Utility poles left to languish long after replacement
What is it about a decommissioned utility pole that makes removing it such an oh-so-slow process?
It’s an oft-asked question by people who see an old pole standing next to its replacement for months or even years, when getting rid of it would seem to be easier than putting up a new one.
Toronto Hydro is responsible for more than 150,000 utility poles and has for years been replacing them on an ongoing basis.
Typically, it erects a new pole next to the old pole, then saws off the old one and leaves it until third-party utilities have disconnected any of their wires still attached to it.
Hydro has never been in a hurry to prod third parties to remove their wires so that old poles can be taken down, which is among the reasons why there are so many sawed-off, out-ofservice poles on city streets.
But when there are no wires — third-party or otherwise — on old poles, and they are still left to languish for extended periods, people see them as useless street clutter and think Hydro is not doing its job.
Constantino Cutajar emailed to ask me to “look into what’s taking Toronto Hydro so long to remove old hydro poles” in several Etobicoke neighbourhoods.
“The areas in question are on the East Mall between The Queensway and North Bloor Street, Bloor Street West between The West Mall and Neilson Drive, and Renforth Drive between Bloor Street and Burnhamthorpe Road.”
Status: We asked Toronto Hydro about the timeline for removing old poles on the streets named by Cutajar and got the following reply from spokesperson Russell Baker: “Toronto Hydro is regularly investing in the renewal of its overhead infrastructure, which is part of maintaining a safe and reliable electricity distribution system. As part of this work, we replace poles that we know to be in deteriorating condition and bring obsolete types of overhead equipment up to modern, safe and reliable standards.
“On average, the company replaces approximately 2,300 poles of its more than 150,000 poles across the city each year.
“Despite those volumes, we are always trying to improve our timelines for removing decommissioned poles. … I can also confirm that we’re on track to remove old poles on the East Mall, Bloor Street W. and Renforth early next year.”