ANAHEIM : Utility Lines Go Under in Beautification Plan

Overhead utility lines along Katella, La Palma and Lincoln avenues will be placed underground in the latest phase of a five-year program to beautify the city and increase safety.

The City Council has unanimously approved the creation of “underground districts” for the three streets. This action puts Pacific Bell and Multivision Cable on notice that they must convert their utility lines at their own expense. The cost of placing city-owned utility lines underground is paid through electric rates.

The newly created underground districts are on Katella Avenue from Haster Avenue to 9th Street, on La Palma Avenue from Kraemer Boulevard to Grove Street, and on Lincoln Avenue from Loara Street to Brookhurst Street.

In addition to reducing blight, the conversion project is designed to improve safety, city officials said, by removing wires and utility poles that can obstruct the vision of drivers and pedestrians.

One of the new underground districts includes the intersection of Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, which had the city’s second-highest accident rate during a recent 12-month study.

The timetable for the conversion project calls for overhead wires to be removed on Lincoln by May, 1997, on La Palma by November, 1997, and on Katella by July, 1998.