Wooden utility poles stand mute throughout Vancouver's back alleys. But, take a close look, and you see they have stories to tell, in the form of words and codes burned in the wood, or stamped onto buttons, and rectangles of metal, nailed to the poles. Just like the ever-present graffiti, all of them have meaning if you know how to read them. I know something about two of them.
In most major cities, much of the transmission infrastructure -- electrical transformers, power lines, telephone lines, and fibre optic cables -- has been moved underground; Vancouver is said to be one of the few cities of its size to still suspend so much of it's transmission overhead -- apparently adding to our earthquake risks. Where image counts to a "world-class" city, on the main streets, the poles are painted steel, but in the lanes they are all wood. British Columbia is still a forestry powerhouse, and wood is probably still cheaper than steel.
[caption id="attachment_1747" align="alignnone" width="497"]
This button (about life-size) means you can touch this pole without being electrocuted. And you can click it to enlarge the image.[/caption]
Almost every pole has a little "Pole-Tec" button nailed to it. These buttons only date back a year or two, when the City of Vancouver contracted Pole-Tec, a local company specializing in wooden utility pole inspections, to do just that, test the safety of virtually all the wooden poles. This followed the non-fatal electrocution of a homeless man, in 2010, sleeping near a metal light standard pole downtown. Independent tests in 2011 suggested a serious problem with poles and stray voltage ►
I watched as Pole-Tec workers methodically tested each pole in Fairview's alleys. They jacked up a lot of poles, into precarious-looking positions -- I don't know if this was to ground them or brace them. All that remains of that work is the little buttons saying the work was done and the poles are safe. The pole at right is one of the only ones I can find, with the extra "stuff" still attached to it.
[caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Someone nailed their old Chargex card to this pole. Click the image to enlarge.[/caption]
Most poles have one of three types of credit card-size tag nailed on them. One of them is just a number code, and the other two include inventory and geographical references. One works with physical maps, and the one pictured above has GPS coordinates in a special form (the first two groups). What's easier to read is that this pole dates to 1979, and belongs to BC Hydro. The details about these old-style geotags is here.
In most major cities, much of the transmission infrastructure -- electrical transformers, power lines, telephone lines, and fibre optic cables -- has been moved underground; Vancouver is said to be one of the few cities of its size to still suspend so much of it's transmission overhead -- apparently adding to our earthquake risks. Where image counts to a "world-class" city, on the main streets, the poles are painted steel, but in the lanes they are all wood. British Columbia is still a forestry powerhouse, and wood is probably still cheaper than steel.
[caption id="attachment_1747" align="alignnone" width="497"]
This button (about life-size) means you can touch this pole without being electrocuted. And you can click it to enlarge the image.[/caption]
Almost every pole has a little "Pole-Tec" button nailed to it. These buttons only date back a year or two, when the City of Vancouver contracted Pole-Tec, a local company specializing in wooden utility pole inspections, to do just that, test the safety of virtually all the wooden poles. This followed the non-fatal electrocution of a homeless man, in 2010, sleeping near a metal light standard pole downtown. Independent tests in 2011 suggested a serious problem with poles and stray voltage ►I watched as Pole-Tec workers methodically tested each pole in Fairview's alleys. They jacked up a lot of poles, into precarious-looking positions -- I don't know if this was to ground them or brace them. All that remains of that work is the little buttons saying the work was done and the poles are safe. The pole at right is one of the only ones I can find, with the extra "stuff" still attached to it.
Geotagging the old-school way
[caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Someone nailed their old Chargex card to this pole. Click the image to enlarge.[/caption]Most poles have one of three types of credit card-size tag nailed on them. One of them is just a number code, and the other two include inventory and geographical references. One works with physical maps, and the one pictured above has GPS coordinates in a special form (the first two groups). What's easier to read is that this pole dates to 1979, and belongs to BC Hydro. The details about these old-style geotags is here.
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