Brock Allen, July 21, 2010

Dear Anonymous: Perhaps we can agree, at least, that the issues are related to aesthetics and taste rather than my personal visual acuity (which is 20/15). My point is that in living in a city, we accept in our neighborhoods a pretty wide range of objects of "unnatural" appearance: fire hydrants, mail boxes, giant blue trash bins, water meter covers, motorcycles and bikes, unwound garden hoses, and all manner of dubious decorations displayed in yards and driveways. What is the difference aesthetically between a vehicle designed to be aggressively industrial in appearance (say a van or pickup) parked in a driveway and an uncluttered transformer box on a concrete pad (except that the transformer box is much smaller and more streamlined)?

Louise Guarnotta, June 28, 2010

I believe the purpose of the "fake" photos in the flyers is to show the potential for above ground utility boxes. I'm all for undergrounding, but would like to see the boxes in underground vaults. I saw in Talmadge that some people have as many as 4 boxes in their front yard. This is totally undesirable. Before we give up, and capitulate to SDG&E, why not TRY to get the boxes underground? If not, then we'll just have to live with the boxes and hope they're in our neighbor's yard.

Anonymous, June 13, 2010

Brock Allen must be blind if he thinks the utility boxes are "small, inconspicucous, and have clean lines. They are more attractive than many of the cars in my neighborhood" what part of town does he live in? I know the car in my hood are all only a couple years old.

Brock Allen, June 10, 2010

Great website! Keep up the great work. I'm not sure I agree with Charles Scott. I looked at the above ground boxes in Talmadge and in the photos and didn't find them offensive in slightest (unlike to overhead lines in our neighborhood). The above-ground boxes are small, inconspicuous, and have clean lines. I see no point in burying them if that would require a special tax assessment district. They are more attractive than many of the cars in my neighborhood and some of the front yard ornaments.

Celia Conover, June 1, 2010

I'm in favor of undergrounding the utilities for the same environmental and safety reasons many others commented on. I'd prefer if even the boxes could be underground but if they must be above ground, I will be happy to consult (at no charge) to come up with one color to help unify and simplify the appearance of so many different shapes and sizes. Of course, simplifying the number of shapes and sizes would help enormously. The integral sidewalk color (Davis match of Solomon "Thyme") we have standardized for some of the current work will also help when patching city sidewalks and curbs may be involved with this new work.

Charles Scott, June 1, 2010

Undergrounding is generally a good thing, but we need to make sure that we don\'t repeat the mistakes that were made in Talmadge. There are so many ugly transformer boxes there now. We have had underground power on our end of Kensington for many years, without the boxes, and other communities have also been able to place most of the transformers in belowground vaults. We need to be careful of giving them a blanket go-ahead without addressing the iisues of where the boxes will be and how many will be aboveground. There are some real bad stories from Talmadge, that we need to learn from.

Jackie Crowle and Charles Scott, June 1, 2010

I hope this new organization works closely with the Ken-Tal Planning group, which did a good Power Point presentation on the ugly boxes of Talmadge and the aesthetic boxes of other cities. Undergrounding is good, but boxes like Talmadge are awful.

Al Troub, May 31, 2010

The Kensington undergrounding project is an extremely desirable and beneficial infrastructure improvement opportunity for our beautiful neighborhood. Not only will it eliminate the unsightly utility lines from our yards and canyons, it will also increase our home values. It is critical that our neighborhood\'s residents and city council members strongly and vocally support this project.

Jon Goldberg, May 31, 2010

This is interesting, everyone should take a look at it. http://orchidsandonions.org/2009/08/16/utility-cans

Christopher Wellington, May 26, 2010

I read the artical and looked at the pictuers sent by unknown on 5/25. The little box was electrocuted while playing around one of those green transformer boxes. It looks like the same kind of transformer box that was used in Talmadge. I don\'t know, but I would not want my children playing around something that produced more of an electrical charge than the Florida electric chair. (See below, Ed.)

Unknown., May 25, 2010

(Editorial Comment: A engthy article from the Herald Tribune in Florida was submitted without further comment. The link to the article is http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100321/article/3211062?p=all&tc=pgall. The article is about a boy who was badly burned by a Florida Power and Light transformer while playing in his neighborhood. We are investigating to determine if this incident is relevant to the Kensington Underground project. We want to know if the neighborhood where the incident occurred has underground or above ground utilities and what type of transformer box was involved.)

Tom Canady, May 25, 2010

I've found that people are in favor of the project once they're informed. Your website will go a long way in accomplishing that and moving the project forward -- great job!

Randall Moore, PhD Electrical Engineering, May 22, 2010

There are several aspects to undergrounding of utilities in Kensington. Aesthetics, safety and efficiency are 3 that I think are important. I understand that some residents are fighting the undergrounding based on the aesthetics of the utility boxes that will be placed in front of some houses. Utility boxes are placed in the City’s access area, within 10 feet of the curb. A group of these boxes for electrical, AT&T and Cox Cable are required when the overhead wires are undergrounded. A set of these utility boxes is required for about every 12 houses. I understand that this is a decision based upon preference. I prefer the utility boxes to the poles and wires that pollute our skyline. Others apparently prefer to leave things the way they are. If you are lucky to be in an area where the poles and wires are not an eyesore or safety issue, please think about your many neighbors who are daily impacted by them

For the other 2 categories, safety and efficiency, it’s not a matter of preference, but facts. These impact everyone. The electrical wires that crisscross our neighborhood are in 2 categories. The wires than run from the transformers on the power poles to our houses are the 120/240 volt lines which power our lights, microwaves, stoves, electrical clothes dryers, etc. These lines are covered with insulation. The lines that feed the transformers are not 120/240 volts. They are much higher. In older neighborhoods the wires carry 4,160 volts phase to phase or 2,400 volts phase to neutral. In neighborhoods that have been upgraded to increase the efficiency of power delivery, the wires are carrying 12,470 volts phase to phase or 7,200 volts phase to neutral. These wires are bare metal, there is no insulation. These high voltage wires are a serious threat to our safety during storms, earthquakes and other disasters.

As for the efficiency aspect of undergrounding, we get all new infrastructures, electrical equipment, telephone lines, Cox cable and Internet, and street light wires. This will improve both the efficiency of power transmission and the reliability for all of our utilities. Lets support the greening of America, one neighborhood at a time, our neighborhood at this time.

Rebecca Rodolff, May 22, 2010

I am very definitely pro-undergrounding of utility wires. We live on a canyon, and I have seen sparks caused by branches swaying against wires when there is wind. The risk of fire seems to me to outweigh any objections to utility boxes. However, if people want to talk about aesthetics, I have to say that the boxes appear preferable to the telephone poles and wires that criss-cross our community. In fact, so innocuous are the boxes compared to poles and wires that, when I looked at the photos on this website, I didn’t realize at first that some of them showed streets with boxes and some with telephone poles. In addition, I have suffered first-hand the poor tree-trimming done by those employed by the city (not to mention the discovery one morning, when I stepped out of the bathroom, of strangers on our deck!). So, yes, I’m all for having an up-to-date infrastructure and a more beautiful, safer Kensington.

Amy Del Nagro, May 22, 2010

Undrgrounding is not only aesthetically more pleasing but safer, adds privacy to those of us with SDG&E pole easements / access points in our back yards and moves us into the 21st century. It will add value to our homes and community too.

Diana Barrett and Kris Nuding, May 21, 2010

Over head wires get caught in my trees. Hard to trim trees, very dangerous. Big poles in our back yards. Wires are a place for Crows to perch and disturb our peace and quiet, not to mention the mess they leave below them. Wires have come loose during severe wind storms. The boxes left behind would make a great Art project for our local school children. There are many other good reason for getting rid of our ugly wires and poles.

Phyllis Michel, May 21, 2010

Thanks for the welcome news about underground utilities. I've been in my house for 26 years and have often wondered #1 why some people still have their tv antennas up and #2 when are we ever going to get the utilities underground. Thanks for answering one of my concerns. I'll be glad to partake in this "beautification" of Kensington.

Terry Frey, May 21, 2010

Undergrounding of electrical utilities is a significant fire safety issue.  A couple of months ago I witnessed a severe electric discharge from a pole in our canyon two houses down that lasted about a minute and was so intense that a neighbor from way across the canyon called the fire department.  If this had happened during fire season we could have experienced our own "Witch Creek" wildfirein our backyards (see http://wildfiretoday.com/tag/power-line/ for the cause of the 2007 wildfires).  The undergrounding will not only get the wires out of the canyons but will provide all new electrical, telephone, and cable service infrastructure and will be of great benefit.

Don Catton, May 21, 2010

As a property owner and manager that was involved in the Talmadge Undergrounding Utilities Project, this surpasses any and all improvements I have EVER seen in the community. Can you imagine what this is going to do for our Kensignton!

Unknown, May 19, 2010

Thank you for creating this newsworthy website for the Kensington Organization. I'm very much in favor of getting rid of our unsightly utility poles. Underground utilities will enhance the beauty of our community.

Pam Raney, May 19, 2010

Every poorly trimmed tree near utility lines is the result of SDGE clearing their lines. These trees grow misshapen and then often die. These trees are MUCH more visible than a few boxes. Also, the roof rats travel from house to house over utility lines every night. The removal of lines would eliminate one more travel route for these pests. Anyone who questions the potential improvement in aesthetics the undergrounding would provide has only to travel to 30th St in South Park where the undergrounding project was recently completed.  The monstrous poles and tangle of lines that used to hang over that lovely neighborhood have been replaced with nice street lamps.

Salt Lake City's planning board is looking into the same questions we brought up tonight, the difference is their planning commission is taking a proactive look at how to make undergrounding better and not a visual eyesore.