DENVER — Hundreds of new cellphone towers are going up around the Denver metro area, but with a cost.
The new poles are being placed in residential areas, along streets and sidewalks. They are designed to provide faster speeds using the latest 5G cellular technology.
But some neighbors are upset with their placement and possible dangers.
The mini towers are designed to increase the saturation for better cellular coverage.
By city code, the towers have to be at least 250 feet apart and the priority is to place them near intersections.
But one pole was put up just steps from the front doors of the Riviera Park condominiums in Capitol Hill. People living there say they were never told it was coming and they want it moved.
“They just showed up,” resident Stevie Strock said. “Unmarked truck and dug a hole, tore up our sprinkler system and put it in in a couple days.
“They’re ugly, that’s one thing. There’s a lot of people in here with children concerned about the radio waves it’s going to give off and we don’t know what that means.”
Verizon plans to move the pole in front the condominium complex and Denver Public Works is reviewing the plan for poles that have yet to be installed.