Sick Trees along the ROW

Who would you notify if your home is adjacent to the ROW and some aging / diseased trees are threatening your property?

Submit a complaint on the MTA website.

Define "threatening your property"....

Will they fall on your house? Garage? Power lines?

If they're not a threat to a structure, I don't know what recourse you have to force action on the railroad's property, but I know in my state, you can legally cut back limbs that extend onto your property line.

If they're a threat to the power lines, just call LILCO or whoever it is these days. It's cheaper for them to hire a contractor to come remove branches than it is to fix a power line using overtime.

If the trees pose a threat to power lines, which utility company should be contacted to address the issue?

If it's power lines on your property, check the deed for who holds the easement. Or maybe call 811. They are primarily underground locating but might be able to help if it's a real emergency.

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tidycoach wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 4:31 am If the trees pose a threat to power lines, which utility company should be contacted to address the issue?

TC (and EM): Do you live on Long Island? Contact - Electric:
PSE&G Long Island - Nassau, Suffolk Counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens Borough
Con Edison - All other areas of the 5 Boroughs of the City of New York and Westchester County
ALSO - For Telephone Lines: Verizon; For Cable TV: Optimum Cablevision
MACTRAXX

ErnieM wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 8:38 pm Who would you notify if your home is adjacent to the ROW and some aging / diseased trees are threatening your property?

EM - What is the location of this problem? Do you have any photos to share with either the LIRR and/or
to post and show here? This is a subject that should be handled yourself by contacting the LIRR to address the
concerns that you have - any feedback that you get here at RR.Net will be only suggestions - and is not official...

Keep in mind RR.Net is rail enthusiast-oriented first and foremost...MACTRAXX

eolesen wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 11:22 pmIf they're a threat to the power lines, just call LILCO or whoever it is these days. It's cheaper for them to hire a contractor to come remove branches than it is to fix a power line using overtime.

Here in CT, in most of the state, Neversource has decrepit old open-wire power lines that can be taken out by tree branches. They are starting to put up some aerial cable, but the town of Wallingford that has a muni PoCo has been using Hendrix Aerial Cable since the 1980's with stronger, taller poles, heavier bolts and brackets, and better installation practices. Thus, they rarely trim trees, they just let them fall on the lines, and the lines keep operating, as the steel messenger cable are rated to take a 3" branch without affecting the operation of the power lines, and often can take much larger. Their lines are up high enough that there are rarely branches larger than 3" high enough up to threaten the power lines. They also have all of their arms for underground feeds parallel to the messenger wire so that it protects them as well.

The answer isn't to play whack-a-mole with trees, it's to build power lines that are designed to take the hit from the tree and keep operating. All three phase distribution lines should be upgraded to a minimum of 22kV carried by Hendrix Aerial Cable.

Our local EMC is replacing poles as needed with much taller poles and feeders higher. Also cutting back on trees within 20 - 30 feet of power lines.

ElectricTraction wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2024 7:47 pm The answer isn't to play whack-a-mole with trees, it's to build power lines that are designed to take the hit from the tree and keep operating. All three phase distribution lines should be upgraded to a minimum of 22kV carried by Hendrix Aerial Cable.

It's really not about taking a whack from a tree taking the lines down it's more causing a short and knocking the line out. Also 3" diameter isn't that big and believe me the power companies do not play "whack a mole" they have specifications on what they will do in consultation with utility arborist.

Red Wing wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2024 3:45 pmIt's really not about taking a whack from a tree taking the lines down it's more causing a short and knocking the line out. Also 3" diameter isn't that big and believe me the power companies do not play "whack a mole" they have specifications on what they will do in consultation with utility arborist.

The problem is using archaic open wire, some of which is insulated, and some of which isn't. Hendrix ACS is almost entirely insulated, and protected and supported by a steel messenger wire.

It is playing whack-a-mole. The idea of vegetation management as some sort of solution to power outages is an idiotic distraction from the real problem. Wallingford Electric doesn't seem to do any sort of vegetation management, they have all sorts of limbs and stuff hanging over their lines, and the power never goes out. They build them higher, with stronger poles, stronger hardware, and Hendrix ACS.

Unless you clear cut everything, you're not going to tree-time your way out of having power lines that are improperly designed, often more than half a century old, and in decrepit condition. The solution is to build the power lines correctly for the environment that they are in.

There is a discussion that needs to happen at some point about trimming trees around busy state roads, as they've been left to grow essentially uncontrolled in many places since the 1950's, and the green tunnel, while pretty, can cause problems. However, power should not be a part of that discussion, the power lines should be built to reliably operate underneath tree branches that can and will fall on them regardless of where they are located, and tree trimming should happen based on the road, houses, businesses, etc.

Maybe the solution is to remove the trees that will foul lines in the present and future. Then plant short max height plants that will choke out any new tall trees which will not grow thru the low height plants.
One such plant I believe is Rhododendron.

west point wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:36 amMaybe the solution is to remove the trees that will foul lines in the present and future. Then plant short max height plants that will choke out any new tall trees which will not grow thru the low height plants.
One such plant I believe is Rhododendron.

The solution is to build power lines that will survive trees falling on them combined with redundant routes to feed 3-phase power.

Obviously, along the ROW of the railroad, the solution might look a bit different, due to the nature of traction wires as well as high-voltage transmission lines present that are very different from your neighborhood 22kV or 33kV lines.

Maybe the real solution is to use wave technology to eliminate power lines.

If you're going to go to the expense of tree-proof cable and towers, you might as well just bury the transmission lines.