New Edison power poles obstruct sidewalks, cause safety concerns
TEMPLE CITY - Gloria De Santos is relieved the windstorm-toppled power pole in front of her house has been replaced with a much thicker one.
The Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 windstorm that pounded the city last year caused about $10 million in damages, downed 17 power poles and left two-thirds of residents temporarily without power, some for a week.
"I guess we're going to be safer because that pole could have fallen on my house," De Santos said Friday, noting it fortunately toppled onto the street.
But many of the new power poles that Southern California Edison has installed on Live Oak Avenue after the storm have created another safety concern: they're so large they're actually blocking the sidewalks for the wheelchair-bound and others with mobility issues, city officials say.
"A person in a wheelchair won't be able to go safely around the pole; they would either have to go down on the street or walk onto someone's grass to get around the pole (and) if someone is in a wheelchair,
