Officials in one New Jersey town are asking the local utility to stop installing giant, 60-foot-tall wooden utility poles until the town can get some answers about their safety.
Some residents of Ridgewood say the poles appear to be twice the height of normal utility poles and could pose a risk.
"None of us knew this was coming -- we didn't know what was going on," said Rebecca Kingston.
Barbara Lynch, a spokeswoman for the utility, Public Service Electric and Gas, tells The Record newspaper the 78 poles are being installed in order to respond to increased demand for power.
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Lynch says the poles are 15 feet higher than standard poles and are sturdier to withstand powerful winds.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn ordered in an email Monday to PSE&G that the utility should "halt all further work related to the installation of new, larger poles until such a meeting can occur and until the health and safety concerns expressed by me and several of our residents are addressed," according to the paper.
Some residents along Spring Street plan to complain about the project during a council meeting on Wednesday night.
--Jen Maxfield contributed to this story
Copyright AP - Associated Press
