‘Make it safe;’ Leaning light pole causing safety concerns on Cleveland street

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Just last week, 19 Investigates uncovered dangerous, broken light poles in Downtown Cleveland.

We’ve seen some progress since our story aired, but now there’s a new safety hazard: a leaning light pole on Cleveland’s West Side, looking like it could fall any second.

Neighbors called the 19 Troubleshooters, hoping to get some of the same repairs we’ve already seen downtown.

“Well, we’re looking at what was supposed to be a temporary fix by Cleveland Public Power,” said Neighbor Jackie Augustine.

It’s a sight you have to see to believe.

A light pole on West 128th Street, leaning on to a tree, only secured by straps at the base and some rope tying the pole to the tree branches.

Augustine thought the minimal effort to secure the tree would for sure get corrected fast.

“What did you think of Cleveland Public Power’s solution?” I asked. “Well, I thought it was crazy to tell you the truth. I’d never seen anything like that before and I thought, I just assumed, that they’d be out in a couple of days,” said Augustine.

But six months later, nothing. In fact, the problem’s just gotten worse.

Neighbors say the light pole is also destroying the tree. It’s tearing down the tree branches, including some of the ones the pole was originally tied to.

That means the amount of rope tying the pole to the tree is dwindling, and Augustine’s worried what could happen next.

“Now it’s leaning so that if it comes down, it’s going to affect my house next door,” said Augustine. “And by affect you mean destroy your front porch,” I said. “Right,” said Augustine.

Augustine says she and her neighbor have reported the problem to CPP countless times, with no results. So we called them instead.

CPP couldn’t tell us whether they had record of this situation, but they say they’re “looking into it.”

You can bet we’ll stay on them until this danger gets resolved and Augustine gets what she’s been asking for for months.

“At least take it down, make it safe,” said Augustine.

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