Photos shed light on tower debate

There’s a man in the Valley who has something of an unusual collection.

Rick Brenden has gathered hundreds and hundreds of pictures of towers that have failed and fallen. Towers that have sheared off of their bases and fallen over like Paul Bunyan’s axe had something to do with it.

You’ve probably already realized that Brenden’s collection isn’t something he’s gathered out of some bizarre personal interest. He’s a member of a committee evaluating the Mat-Su Borough’s rules for towers. The pictures are just part of the evidence he’s gathered to refute claims that towers don’t fall over, they collapse.

It’s dramatic photographic evidence indeed from real towers that have failed.

We’ve been thinking about towers a lot lately. In fact, when we were discussing whether to write yet another editorial about them, the main argument against it was that our readers — if they’re anything like us — are probably feeling a bit of tower-fatigue.

We’ll spare you, then, the re-hash of the twisted path Mat-Su Borough tower regulations have followed the past couple of years. We do, however, want to point out that tall structures aren’t just cellphone towers. The towers in question also are the type that elevate power lines above ground level.

In discussing Matanuska Electric Association’s plans to build 80- to 100-foot power towers through Wasilla along the Parks Highway, we have been told more than once that a major concern MEA is trying to mitigate is the possibility that the structures could fail and potentially tie up traffic on that highway.

Of course, those are a much different type of tower than those that hold cellphone antennas, but we still find it noteworthy that MEA has so much concern for its neighbors. By contrast, cellular telephone companies — and some Assembly members — are content to reassure us that towers are not designed to fail, even when, if Brenden is to be believed, a great deal of evidence exists to support that argument.

We’re the first to admit that cellular service has been a godsend. It’s tough enough running a newspaper in the age of the Internet. Were we not able to call in stories from fire scenes and even send photos, this job would be daunting, if not impossible.

But we’d gladly settle for a reduction in signal strength and reliability if it meant that any tower built would be placed so it could not fall on to a neighboring home. If roads are due such courtesy, we wish no less for our friends and neighbors who have invested in the Valley by buying property and paying taxes here.

Brenden’s photos are a good reminder of the importance of not sacrificing due diligence at the altar of unfettered development.