POLE PROBLEMS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11509, 4 October 1915, Page 5

POLE PROBLEMS.

—~—* —■ ELECTRIC WIRES INCREASING. CITY LAST IN THE FIELD. Now thai this City Council-is extending tho electrical reticulation .of the city ifc Ends that the old monopoly of the Telegraph Department and Tramway Board is very inconvenient. These two bodies agreed to take one side of | tho street each. " Both sides of the street are monopolised,*' said the Mayor this morning, " and wo have U> shift because we were last in the held. Where our high tension wires cross tho telephone wires there is a u.inger of induction, and we have to raise oui' wires. It we had been first in the held those coming after would have had to make their system fit in with ours. As it is we have to go to that expense." The subject cropped up in connection with a, ouery as to the cause of the removal of many of. the existing electric light poles, and the substitution of others. The explanation is supplied by Mr E. E. Stark, city electrical engineer. "Some of the old poles are ineaoablo of carrying their present load. They were put up seven years ago, when the plant was supplying 125 kilowatts. The plant is J lf >w supplying nearly 2000 kilowatts, and the wires have been increased to such en extent as to make it necessary to change the p01e,3. This work has hatdly been) started. In another case wo are running high tension and low tension currents on the same poles, which require raising. The most economical way i.a to put in longer poles. That is what we are doing in Durham Street. In j the third case the tramway poles would j be overloaded if the city wires were j put on them, and we are making :«*- ! rangeraents with the tramway depaitmeat accordingly." Mr Stark remarked that town planners overlooked the all-important aspect of electric poles. Los Angeles had' been granoling with tho difficulty, and' bv adopting; the combination pole, which was practically what was Doing adopted in Ohristchurch, had made a wonderful improvement in the appear- 1 mice of the city. To avoid street disinurement also the system was adopted in some American cities of carryin'gthe electric poles for private lighting along the centre of each block' of buildings without appearing on the> street at all. Street lighting was effected bv underground wires connecting: with lighting poles.