Six new cell towers on the way in Clarington to address service gaps

Clarington will be adding six new cell towers over the next year or so to fix phone service gaps after private sector investors failed to step up to address the issue.

The municipality will be partnering with Shared Tower, an Oakville-based telecommunications service provider, to build the infrastructure on town-owned properties.

Six locations have been identified:

• South Courtice Arena on Prestonvale Road
• Bowmanville Fire Station on Highway 2
• Municipally-owned land in Bowmanville’s Northglen neighbourhood
• Orono Fire Station on Main Street
• Solina Community Hall on Concession Road 6
• Tyrone Community Centre on Concession Road 7

Each tower can be installed in six to eight months once the locations have been approved.

The proposal came as a result of a formal call to industry earlier this year to team up to increase the amount of cellular infrastructure in the community. Clarington will be one of the first municipalities in Canada to take this approach due to lack of private sector investment.

“We understand and share the frustration residents are experiencing when it comes to cell connectivity issues in our community – this is a critical service that impacts us all,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster. “Municipalities have grown impatient waiting for a response from upper levels of government on crucial issues that impact our communities – it was time to get this done, and the task fell to us. We’ve entered an era where local government is forced to go above and beyond its scope to create innovative solutions for residents.”

Cellular infrastructure is regulated by the federal government, and towers will be subject to federally legislated processes.

“Staff have been working hard to find new and creative ways to help facilitate investment, eliminate barriers and get more cell infrastructure built in Clarington – which has known service gaps in both urban and rural areas,” said Justin MacLean, Clarington’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. “These towers, which are designed to be used by multiple service providers, will provide considerable cellular connectivity improvements once constructed and operational.”

In addition to being one of the first communities to proactively offer municipal land to work with the private sector to develop cell infrastructure, staff have also simplified the municipal review process for cellular infrastructure to be built by private sector, he added.