According to City officials the when the power company installed connections to the SunLink modern streetcar line, they spent about $100,000 for improvements and relocated about a dozen power poles to make room for the streetcar. But they did not move all the street lights. They built around them and now they pose a very real hazard.
Should you become distracted for a moment while walking downtown these days, you could end up walking right into a light pole.
Just this Monday, camera crews were causing many distractions and obstacles for Tucson pedestrians as they surrounded the federal courthouse for the sentencing of one of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murderers, when one Tucson man struck a light pole in the middle of the sidewalk on the east side of the federal courthouse. He reported that he was walking careful down the sidewalk dodging the many poles when he was distracted momentarily by a FOX News camera crew.
The blow was so powerful, leaving him dazed, he had to grab onto the pole to keep himself from falling. He came away with a headache and very large bump on his head.
According to many regular downtown walkers, the streetcar has turned downtown, which has become an exciting center of activity into an obstacle course full of hazards.
In an article in the Arizona Daily Star, Andy Squire, economic-development specialist for the city, discussed the City’s work to bury utilities under the ground. He said, “Right now, we’re pretty confident that we have what we need in the ground.”
This leaves the question; did they think about moving the streetlights closer to the curb, and out of pedestrian traffic, before burying the lines that power them?
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