While there are cell coverage gaps in Provincetown, MA, residents are more concerned about possible radiation emitted from the seven proposed cellular and CRAN wireless communication devices. In fact, some planning board members asked at last week’s meeting that with the new cell antennas on the water tower and WiFi in the town, why more towers needed to be added.
Verizon presented its findings, and asked the board’s members for permission to install devices on utility poles at 14 Johnson, 26 Tremont, 261 and 471 Commercial and 42 and 262 Bradford streets, and at the Shank Painter and Silva Lane intersection, according to Wicked Local. The representative said that there are gaps in coverage in these locations and that there is a need for “enhanced voice and data capability during the busier times of Provincetown’s season.”
Twelve residents came to the meeting to voice concerns about long-term health effects and aesthetics. Some said that the canisters of the CRAN technology were larger than expected, even though the Verizon rep said “the CRAN technology is extremely low-impact from a visual perspective and from an emissions perspective.” Verizon wants to mount two-foot-tall cylindrical canister antennae that weigh 22 lbs. each to the top of each pole. The canisters are about a foot in diameter and would be painted gray. Residents asked that the locations be changed.
“They should really be thinking about our health, and I don’t think that’s happening here,” Mike Trovato, Provincetown’s fire chief and a homeowner and business owner on Shank Painter Road, said at the meeting. “I am concerned about radiation, and I don’t trust these people and I don’t trust these things.”
According to the FCC’s Telecommunications Act, the board can’t deny Verizon, but it can vote on the location of the antennae. Wicked Local noted the board was also concerned about other competitors following Verizon in installing in the town. Planning Board Member Ryan Campbell said at the meeting that the board is actually looking at 21 overall sites, with two other companies wanting to follow Verizon with seven antennas apiece.
Other board members agreed with looking into more appropriate locations that have coverage gaps and that aren’t as close to residences. They asked that more information regarding health effects and alternative locations be brought to the next hearing on Thursday, April 28.
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