Existing (top) and projected coverage for Verizon Wireless customers if the tower behind Tracey’s is replaced. The blue marker shows the location of the existing tower; the red one just east of I-95 is another tower in Lexington that would be decommissioned. (Click to enlarge)
(Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 22 to incorporate a correction in the description of the cell tower’s location.)
A plan to replace the 55-foot cell tower adjacent to Route 2 between Page and Old County Roads with a new 75-foot monopole will be the subject of a Planning Board hearing on Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m.
Crown Castle wants to build a replacement tower at 295 Cambridge Turnpike and decommission another tower to the southeast in Lexington. The change will not affect coverage for customers of Sprint, the current tower’s tenant, but will improve service for new tenant Verizon Wireless. The structure will also have room for a third wireless tenant, said Michael Giaimo, an attorney representing Crown Castle.
The proposed tower height “was determined by what is allowed under the Lincoln Bylaw and the coverage needs of the carriers locating on the tower,” Giaimo said. The Planning Board oversaw a visibility test on March 11 when a tethered red balloon at the proposed height of the new tower was flown from the current structure.
Last year, the MBTA proposed three new monopoles along the railroad tracks in Lincoln with the potential accommodate cell phone service providers, though their primary purpose was to comply with a federal mandate for emergency train stop controls. A public hearing scheduled in April was postponed until the MBTA completes the permitting process with the Federal Communications Commission.