Do you have a double pole in your neighborhood? Or maybe more than one?
Double poles are created when an older utility pole needs to be replaced. A new pole is installed next to the old one, all equipment is transferred, and often both poles remain.
State law requires the old poles be removed within 90 days, but that doesn’t always happen.
Resident Charles Gessner says the poles are becoming a problem.
“Double poles have proliferated all over Marblehead as the Light Department has replaced old, weakened ones,” Gessner said. “Hopefully, the Select Board will inform Comcast and Verizon that they will not issue permits for new connections until all of these dangerous and unsightly doubles are removed. They pose a risk to the system if we have a powerful Nor’easter or hurricane.”
Jon Blair, the new general manager of the Marblehead Municipal Light Department, said there are about 4,000 poles across town, including roughly 100 double poles.
“We have joint custody over those with Verizon,” he told the Current. “We jointly own all the poles and split the town in half for maintenance.”
Gov. Maura Healey is pushing a provision that would extend the deadline for utilities to remove old poles to 180 days and give cities and towns the right to impose penalties of $1,000 for noncompliance.
Blair said double poles are an issue not just in Marblehead but across the North Shore. Multiple utilities may be using the poles, complicating removal.
“It’s not quite as simple as having Verizon finish the job,” he said. “They may be waiting for Comcast to move equipment, or it may be something we need to coordinate on the town side. It might involve a private contractor or the municipal fiber optic network. It’s a nuanced situation.”
The Light Department is making the issue a priority, according to Blair.
“It’s rising as a priority for us to address over the next six to 12 months,” Blair said. “We’ve increased communication with Verizon in the past couple of weeks, updating our database of poles and trying to get crews in. The work is largely on the part of the communication companies. Where we can influence that is by keeping the joint database updated.”
He emphasized that double poles, while unsightly, are not inherently dangerous.
“There’s no material safety risk,” he said. “If there was, we would be much more aggressive about resolving it. Maybe it makes sidewalks more difficult to walk on, or it’s an extra hazard for plows to clip.”
Blair added, “It’s not wrong for folks to be pressing us on this issue, and we are making it a priority.”
