Victoria needs a lot more underground wiring.

^ Absolutely. It is a travesty that they keep allowing this stuff to stay above ground downtown.

...

Daily Colonist
August 12, 1952

Planning for the Future

to... leave this grim forest of light and telephone poles, with their overhead squirrel cages of interlaced wires everywhere, is to fail in a worth while vision. It would be manifestly unfair and impracticable to expect public utilities to bury their distributing systems unaided. Provincial and municipal help would be required; the former possibly by way of a capital-city grant, and the city directly in its own interest.

If the costs could be split three ways, and the term over which replacement work was to be done extended over a reasonably long period*, much that appeared impossible initially might upon full and proper investigation be found well within the competence of this community. Planning for the future is the logical function of a town planning commission. (aastra observes: Planning, yes; Productive Action, not so much.)

*aastra asks: would ~70 years be enough time? We're still talking about this issue in 2024 as if it were some new thing.

would ~70 years be enough time? We're still talking about this issue in 2024 as if it were some new thing.

Just to be clear, there actually was a successful effort to put lines underground in the innermost 30-block core area of downtown. But (spoiler alert): downtown Victoria is actually quite a bit larger than just 30 blocks.

Daily Colonist
May 7, 1960

Underground Wiring

Street Ripping Will Be Over In a Few Days

Last of the major excavation of Victoria's downtown streets for underground wiring, started in 1956, will be over in a few days.

In about a month, the B.C. Electric will let a contract for the installing of wires in some of the 128 miles of four-inch ducts buried in a 30-block downtown area, and of transformers in 38 underground vaults.

This work will continue until next April, and then the final phase of the conversion to underground wiring, the removal of poles, will begin. By the middle of 1962, the last of the downtown power poles is scheduled to be taken down.

Well I guess we can give them a bit more time then. I don't want to be pushy.