The expansion of cell phone use can be seen just about anywhere. You don't see anyone hardly anymore that doesn't have a phone in there hand or up to their face. The second part of that equation is not only the number of cell phone towers but the increasing number of decks being added to those towers that are already an eye sore of sort. Last week I even saw a cell tower in that now famous triangle arrangement that was covered with a dome like a radar at the airports. Get this. The dome was a dead give away in that it was not round. It was---wait for it----triangular in shape. Now that excites me. Who in the world would go to that length for a cell tower when they are everywhere, bare and cable exposed!
Besides, we have all seen the high tension towers for power lines that runs across hillsides, through meadows, down mountainsides with as wide of a right-a-way as the tower itself. Plus, an equal amount on either side of the outside wires that are strung from tower to tower. Now, the city has started to create additional bike trails that wind there way along these cut right-of-ways with flashing pedestrian crossings at streets underneath the wires mile after mile after mile. They even have names for the section of trail done in stone work and steel mind you. Water fountains for not only you but the kids and the pouch are part of this money grab. Looks like a stepping stone on a toadstool. Nice. But, dang, there are still streets with mammoth potholes from three years ago! But that little gem we will let ride for another days post.
Now, even those, the trail high tension towers, are adding cellphone triangles at their tops. While that kind of cellphone tower makes more sense to me than the single pole type that juts up from the corner of a church parking lot or behind the local Jimmy John's sub shop's alley, or even a neighborhood's girls soccer field. Even the soccer field abuts the local Kroger store and makes a couple of turn lefts-turn rights and still ending up with a cell tower at the end of the club house area near the covered patio with picnic tables. There is, of course a lots of reasons for the choice of a site for these things. What is even more amazing is that to get the people to say okay to putting one on their property, there is a little pie sweeteners called a monthly rent check from the cell provider. That raises even more questions about the utilities getting rent from the cell providers. Do you see a reduction on your monthly Edison (electric) bill? No. I bet you don't! So where is that money going?
Today, as I started out and traveled my regular Sunday route, I noticed a cell tower in a shopping center where I shopped before moving farther way from the old neighborhood. It's on both sides of a major street. There is a water tower set back out of the way that has had a few microwave dishes mounted to its catwalk railings. They encircle the tower beginning at the bottom of the tank and going upwards to the top were a little red light is required by the FAA. It is on the approach area for Love Field. Not so bad. It's stood there for years and likely will be there for more years to come. But, I also noticed a shocking event happening. Workers in multi-high cherry pickers and others with there little boatswain chair seats already attached to their rear ends.I pulled into the parking lot, made the circle to the side where the tower stood and got some shots. Remember that those white pop sickle sticks are transmitters sending out that little signal or receivers and are the length of a six-foot tall man.
Just for comparison, I also ran across a tower crane being disassembled with one section of the cross bar already on the ground. It was higher than my car and through the sunroof, it was visible about another two feet. That tower crane will now go to a customer that has been waiting over a year to get it. In the metroplex currently, there are more than 100 tower cranes that are up and running. I counted 15 in downtown and 4 more at Love Field that are on my Sunday route. Today there were 3 at Medical City and 1 at White Rock; 2 at Northpark. That's a quarter of the 100 right there. Sundays are good for things like that when the traffic can endure more lane closings while another crane takes one apart. There are others on the tip of my tongue, too. It's mind-blowing.
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| Water Tower, Microwave towers and Cell Tower |
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| The top deck is without any equipment---yet! |
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| The man with his boatswain chair will need as he rises upward to the higher deck above the round dish to the infamous triangle that points the way. |
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