They pave paradise

and put up obnoxious power line poles. Somehow Chugach Electric managed to sneak these by the "powers that be" and had them up before anybody could stop them. There are some very unhappy property owners along Northern Lights Boulevard in east Anchorage. Aren't these hideous in a place as beautiful as this?

I think power company go put of their way at time to ruin views. Not sure about there but here they would of had to have hearings and all. Not that it would do any good but at least they pretend to care.

over three years ago (when we had a more conservative do-nothing/spend-nothing mayor), but nothing was ever really presented to the public. When our new progressive Democratic mayor, Mark Begich, came into office in 2003 nobody bothered to advise him that these were in the works -- because I'm SURE he would have done something to try to stop them -- but he's had to take all the heat from the disgruntled property owners. It's really not fair. Not only are these ugly because of their size, but the poles are actually rusty-looking. At least they could have painted them some nice color or something, done something playful with them maybe.

A lot of people in town want buried lines, and there are some places where they've actually done that (on OUR end of Northern Lights Blvd., for example - I'm not sure how we lucked out), but the electric companies don't like doing that because it's a lot more work for them to fix if there are problems, especially in the winter.

To their credit, the power companies have improved their service a LOT over the past 30 years. We used to have power outages all the time, but that seems to be a problem of the past. But still ... I think they could have done a lot better than these eyesores.

new mayor, shame someone didn't inform him of it. I don't know why power companies refuse to bury lines, it might cost more upfront but they can't have to fix them near as much as they do above ground. Every time the wind blows, rains hard, ice, snow or depending where you are, the ground shakes them down. Oh and lets not forget cars taking them out.
Saw all my typos above, should never type in a hurry. :blush:

Who puts up powerlines in this day and age? I know that in some parts of the mountains here it's tough because of all the rock but that looks like a no brainer. Less money I guess. Maybe they'll figure out that they screwed up after you get one of those rare snow storms up there and it takes the power out.

We're in some serious weather territory out here, too. Burying lines, even the big ones, is more expensive than paying for the infrequent outages caused by wind, hail, snow, and Peterbilt. ;)

Buried lines do last, but they cause all kinds of easement problems, future digging hazards, and the cost of maintaining a good system so you know where they are in 50 years when something does go wrong, or natural gas or water or sewer or somebody wants to dig.

As a nation, we're too cheap for 'em. :D

unfortunately, most Americans have never seen or even considered the other options, so they don't realize how nice the place COULD be.

I don't know how many times I've stopped during a drive somewhere in the country and wanted to take a picture, but not even bothered because there were these things all over the place.

Plus, they're just an opportunity to smash your car and kill your passenger every 90 yards.

Is that you almost have to relearn to see to avoid them in your shots. Your'e so used to seeing them that until you see thewm in 2d on a photo that you don't even notice them. I don't know how many older shots I have that would be beautiful if it weren't for power/phone lines that for some reason were invisible until I had the photos printed then it was like where the hell did they come from. Like you, now I just avoid the shots where they will be ruined by power lines or cell phone towers. Unless it's something I don't think I'll see again then I'll take the shot and maybe photoshop them out.

Mic stands at rock shows are another major annoyance.

Really appalling.:grr:

... country/government to mandate 100% underground utility lines - no power poles/lines or telephone poles/lines to interfere with the scenic beauty. I'm told this was mandated shortly after WW2 and accomplished in the 1950s. In my several visits there, I've never seen a power line or telephone line, yet all residences are connected. Somebody was paying attention.

in Alaska is something about the permafrost and snow depth, but, as I mentioned above, they've buried lines in some parts of town but not others. I really don't get it. And it really is a shame to obscure such beautiful views.