Unfinished work on a number of damaged light poles is posing a threat to Haverhill joggers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Haverhill City Councilor Joseph J. Bevilacqua made that assertion at last week’s Council meeting where he presented two photographs—one showing the stump of a broken, metal light pole with sharp, jagged edges and the other, showing the same pole with an orange highway cone covering it.
“People have told me that there are 10 to 12 poles that are broken in the city that are not yet repaired, not yet scheduled and they’ve been that way for months,” Bevilacqua said.
Bevilacqua said he talked to Mayor James J. Fiorentini about the situation and the need for something more than a quick fix. Although he said the mayor was responsive and contacted the company that actually repairs and replaces the poles, he does not believe the Department of Public Works has set a date for that work to be done.
The Council agreed the situation needs to be addressed and voted to send a letter to the public works director and the mayor to find out what the procedure and timeline is to fix those poles as well as a list of all the poles in the city in need of repair.
The motion passed by a vote of 7-0 with Council President Timothy J. Jordan and Councilor Melissa Lewandowski absent.