Virginia’s largest electric company owns about a million power poles around the state, and it’s responsible for their maintenance and periodic replacement. Cities like Charlottesville have agreements with Dominion, but resident Kevin Cox says they have not been enforced.
“The agreement with the city of Charlottesville is as weak as soggy paper towel. It was signed in 1901.”
He complains that Dominion has left old poles standing next to new ones in many places.
“There’s a pole on Market Street that was struck by a drunk driver almost two years ago. That pole is still there. Dominion came and installed a new pole, but they left the old one leaning against the new pole.”
In some cases, he adds, those double poles block the sidewalks, making them impassable for wheelchairs.
Dominion spokesman Jeremy Slayton says not all poles in Virginia belong to his firm, and they’re often shared with telecom companies.
“We are unable to remove an older pole while other utilities’ equipment remains on that pole.”
Charlottesville’s director of public works says the city has been meeting with Dominion and telecom companies on a regular basis to develop a plan for removal of double poles and it has put them on notice that they must keep the sidewalks open to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
