Bell looking at putting tower in Palgrave

November 14, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
There’s likely soon to more than horses around the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave.
Plans are in the works for Bell Mobility to put up a tower at the southwest corner of the property, just off of Paine Avenue.
The company recently hosted an open house session on the proposal at Palgrave Public School.
Colin Lavery, manager of site acquisitions and government relations with Bell, said the property is owned by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and leased to Equine Management Group. He added the aim is to service local demand after next year’s Pan Am Games.
“This was the location that was promoted and would provide the best coverage,” he said.
The tower will be a 50-metre steel shrouded tripole structure with an equipment cabinet at its base. It will be surrounded by a fence and landscaping.
According to material supplied by Bell at the open house, the tower is needed to address customer complaints, as well as network deficiencies that have been identified. The advantages to the selection of this site include the fact there’s a willing landlord, and it offers local access and the ability to connect with a wider network. It’s also a matter of keeping up with increasing demand.
The matter still has to go before Caledon council. Lavery said they are hoping that will happen early in December. If council is opposed to the idea, he said the matter could go before Industry Canada, “or it’s back to the drawing board.”
There are often concerns about harmful electromagnetic and microwave emissions from installations like this. But material supplied at the open house indicated they are much lower than what’s considered safe by Health Canada.
Lavery said there had been few health concerns raised by members of the public. There seemed to be more people asking about the aesthetics of the tower.
He also said this tower will be a joint installation with Rogers. He added Wind Mobile has expressed interest too.
He also said once the approvals are in place, it will take eight to 10 weeks to get the tower up and going.