Aurora residents ready to take on Hydro One over proposed hydro poles

Yorkregion.com
July 4, 2019
Teresa Latchford

Andrea Kariotis is asking her neighbours to join her fight.

The Aurora resident lives on Pinnacle Trail and recently noticed there were a number of stakes 18 feet from her property about 100 feet apart all along the hydro corridor.

“We have had no notices delivered to us to let us know about any work going on,” she said. “When I asked one of the men working on the property, he said they were marking for hydro poll installation.”

The area is already a hydro corridor supporting large metal high-voltage transmission towers. The area’s power needs are served so Kariotis and her neighbours are confused about why more hydro polls are needed.

“We are going to fight this,” she said. “If more power lines are absolutely needed, they should at least be buried underground.”

Kariotis wonders if the residents had not noticed the staking activity behind them, would Hydro One have contacted them at all? Now that a bit of information is known, the residents have a number of concerns including the potential additional layer of electrical lines close to our homes in addition to existing high-voltage transmission lines so close to their houses where they, their children and pets live.

In 2004, many of the same residents raised concerns about the health impacts when Hydro One was planning to upgrade the current 80-foot towers to 135-foot towers and doubling the transmission lines. The community backlash resulted in the dismissal of the project.

They question their safety when bad weather has the potential to topple poles into their yards and have concerns about the impact on local wildlife.

“At this point we have the impression that the need for community involvement and consultation is not being considered as important,” she added.

Many of the 46 homeowners that back onto the corridor have contacted Hydro One directly and have been told there is a project beginning as a result of the Metrolinx plan for electrification of the Barrie Rail corridor. To meet the power demands of this project, Hydro One may be required to relocate existing distribution posts to avoid a conflict.

“Hydro One is in the early stages of exploring the options available to relocate some of its key equipment that serves area customers, including wires and poles, at the request of Metrolinx,” Hydro One spokesperson Alicia Sayers said. “As part of this upcoming project, crews were on-site in Aurora near Pinnacle Trail during the week of June 17 to gather local site information and complete staking, which is used to help us identify safe construction clearances from existing transmission towers on Hydro One’s right-of-way.”

This includes exploring the locations along the existing right-of-way located between St. John’s Sideroad and Mulock Drive.

Sayers added that Hydro One prides itself on working together with the communities it serves and it will be reaching out to residents in the coming months on this future work for Metrolinx.

“Prior to engaging with the community, Hydro One needs to gather information to develop options for the relocation of this existing equipment to be presented as part of our community consultation,” she said. “We look forward to providing more information on this project as it becomes available.”

But Kariotis isn’t prepared to sit back and wait. She has already started collecting signatures on a petition and will be making a delegation at the July 16 meeting of council. She has also sent a letter outlining her and her neighbour’s concerns to all of the elected officials.

“We understand that the project is in a preliminary stage and there are still many unknowns,” Kariotis said. “We ask town staff to include a Hydro One representative in the upcoming meeting so they can also hear our concerns and reconsider any additional hydro post installation in our area.”

Residents looking to sign the petition or get involved can contact Kariotis via email, andreakariotis@gmail.com or attend the meeting at Aurora’s town hall.