HOUSTON — Neighbors in Texas City called KHOU 11, concerned about leaning utility poles in their community. After not getting anywhere with his own calls, Mark Baron turned to us for help.
"If it falls, I'm afraid it's going to kill somebody," said Peggy Taylor, whose home sits along the alleyway where the poles are located.
She walked us back to see the poles. One was reinforced with a wooden board.
"As you can see, it's being held up by, I guess those are cable lines, but I can't tell for sure," Taylor said. "The other pole is leaning as well in the same fashion."
Baron says he called KHOU 11 because of similar story we covered in Houston, where a utility pole was leaning over a sidewalk.
In that case, Comcast sent a crew out to the neighborhood in Montrose to take the pole down.
"The past four years, I have called," Taylor said. "Nothing's done and that since it's been like this."
This time, after making a few calls, we learned it was a different company, AT&T, that these Texas City poles belongs to. The company came out and replaced the leaning utility pole and removed a second one from the location.
"It's so nice and safer now to come in the alley, and I appreciate Channel 11 trying to help us in this neighborhood," another neighbor told our cameras as he was walking by.
Meantime, Baron just wishes the process was simpler and there was one phone number to call.
"What really frustrates me is there is no particular department with a number people can reach out to and give them an address and a location of what looks like a dangerous pole," he said.
A spokeswoman for AT&T told us customers should contact them directly with any concerns about utility poles. If you are not sure who the pole belongs to, reach our to your local provider first.
- AT&T 1-800-288-2020
- Xfinity 1-800-934-6489
- CenterPoint Energy 1-800-332-7143
- Texas-New Mexico Power 888-866-7456
If you have a problem, Grace Can Help. Call her at (713) 521-HELP, email GraceCanHelp@khou.com or tell us about it using the form below.