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May 11, 2010

Another wireless antenna proposal for Walnut Creek: This one may receive a warmer welcome

Clearwire didn't receive a very warm, fuzzy welcome the last time it tried to build a wireless antenna in Walnut Creek. That proposed structure was to go up near the playing fields of Walnut Heights Elementary and next door to residents. Parents and neighbors protested pretty loudly, and the Walnut Creek School District, on whose land the antenna would be built, told Clearwire no thanks.

AT&T is also facing opposition from residents in the Buena Vista neighborhood with its plans to build a wireless antenna on the grounds of St. Stephen's Church, near open space.

The new proposal, again by Clearwire, would see the construction of three panel antennas, three internet service exchanges heads and one equipment cabinet on the roof of an 11-story office building near the BART station. The Planning Commission will discuss this proposal at its meeting Thursday evening.

The building, at 2121 North California Boulevard, does not sit next to a school playing field or look down into someone's bedroom window.  The parcel is surrounded by two other buildings, the BART tracks, a parking lot, and the BART tracks.  The antenna's three panels would be five feet high and go up on the roof of the building's penthouse.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

All this baloney about children's exposure to RF is baloney. They get more exposure from the cell phone in their pocket and wireless networks in their homes.

Have any of you ever noticed the PGE towers north of Foothill Middle School? Get a clue people... your "concerns" reflect your ignorance.

Jojo Potato said...

Clearwire is in the business of providing wireless internet, in this case a service known as WiMAX which is similar to wifi wireless (think Starbucks) except it's faster and coverages a larger area. I'd love to see those antennas installed. It would provide me, near WCI, with another option for internet which is always a good thing.

Jojo Potato said...

Whoops, meant "covers" a larger area. In fact a single antenna can cover a 30 mile radius, compared to WiFi at 100 feet. So this is different than a cell tower, like ATT wants to put over by Buena Vista. Check out Cleanwire's web site for pricing information, looks pretty interesting.

Anonymous said...

Why not put it on a city building to collect revenue. That, combined with cutting pensions, would help that huge budget hole.

Anonymous said...

Let's get a few on the damn library!

Dave said...

The library and city buildings do seem like a good idea.

Anonymous said...

So I visited this shop recently. I purchased a few items and paid cash. I was not given a receipt. I asked for a receipt two times. First time, the cashier told me that they only printed one for credit card receipts. A few minutes later, I was more insistant and indicated that I must have a receipt. The cashier flat out told me no - they do not provide a receipt for my transaction - only if I paid by credit card.

Sounds like tax evasion to me. Could the city be losing tax dollars over a situation like this? What would you do in a case like this?

Anonymous said...

I would call the county or state. Consider not shopping there next time.

Anonymous said...

Well gee whiz.. won't alot of children visit the libary and would be exposed to RF radiation if antennas were mounted in the building?

Veronica said...

Thanks so much for this article, pretty useful material.