"Moving lines is very expensive, and the cost would be spread among the rest of the utility company’s customers... that would be a move some customers might not appreciate."
Of course. It is well understood by anyone who's ever been broke that money is like oxygen - when you run out, the need for more is undeniable, stabbing, stark. Like that moment just before you finally exhale and can't take it any more. Just as a choking or drowning person will kill, if necessary, to get oxygen again, people will not give up any more of their money than is absolutely necessary. Understood.
"Lines other than electrical lines may be attached to those poles, and putting them underground may not be possible, he said."
I'd hope the question of which types of lines are running on city poles could be answered rather quickly by the city itself, wouldn't you?
'“It’s really something that’s bothersome to us,” said John Hyden, YSU’s executive director of facilities.'
Yes, his Draco Malfoy-style smugness bothers me, too, but there is a good argument for dropping the poles - good-looking things tend to breed happier people. Pleasant aesthetics really do help make people better citizens; more concerned, more interested, generally happier to live where they live. Nevertheless, reality insists on persisting:
'“Everyone talks about aesthetics, but there’s a major expense involved,” Durbin said.'
Fair point. Which is exactly why, despite the overall economy and the potential hypocrisy of wealthy administrators, we should go ahead with this, because:
'The university and the city are making some big investments in that area, “but we’re stuck with those ugly poles,” he said. “This is probably the right time to take care of it.”'
Probably. So, while we're in the pattern of re-investing, let's say "probably" is all the more any of this is really banking on, and go ahead and take a chip out of the mountain of despair that pervades the rust belt. It's not goin to get better overnight, and it's only going to get better at all if we take a chunk out when and where we can.
SVSullivan_IV_A
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August 14, 2009 at 9:36 a.m. permalink suggest removal
‘Ugly, bothersome’ utility poles will mar beauty of $34M YSU business building, leader laments
A few points:
"Moving lines is very expensive, and the cost would be spread among the rest of the utility company’s customers... that would be a move some customers might not appreciate."
Of course. It is well understood by anyone who's ever been broke that money is like oxygen - when you run out, the need for more is undeniable, stabbing, stark. Like that moment just before you finally exhale and can't take it any more. Just as a choking or drowning person will kill, if necessary, to get oxygen again, people will not give up any more of their money than is absolutely necessary. Understood.
"Lines other than electrical lines may be attached to those poles, and putting them underground may not be possible, he said."
I'd hope the question of which types of lines are running on city poles could be answered rather quickly by the city itself, wouldn't you?
'“It’s really something that’s bothersome to us,” said John Hyden, YSU’s executive director of facilities.'
Yes, his Draco Malfoy-style smugness bothers me, too, but there is a good argument for dropping the poles - good-looking things tend to breed happier people. Pleasant aesthetics really do help make people better citizens; more concerned, more interested, generally happier to live where they live. Nevertheless, reality insists on persisting:
'“Everyone talks about aesthetics, but there’s a major expense involved,” Durbin said.'
Fair point. Which is exactly why, despite the overall economy and the potential hypocrisy of wealthy administrators, we should go ahead with this, because:
'The university and the city are making some big investments in that area, “but we’re stuck with those ugly poles,” he said. “This is probably the right time to take care of it.”'
Probably. So, while we're in the pattern of re-investing, let's say "probably" is all the more any of this is really banking on, and go ahead and take a chip out of the mountain of despair that pervades the rust belt. It's not goin to get better overnight, and it's only going to get better at all if we take a chunk out when and where we can.
August 14, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. permalink suggest removal