To the Editor:

We can see with our own eyes it is now long past time that we bury our power and phone lines instead of stringing them from vulnerable poles that are a relic of the 19th century telegraph system.

Visitors from around the world are amazed that America, a country that leads the world in technology, still uses this antiquated system. They are aghast that we lose power when a tree falls or a strong wind blows. All of their lines were buried long ago and their power systems seldom fail.

The costs of burying lines will certainly be outweighed over time by the vast savings from perennial LIPA tree-trimming, storm repair costs, lost utility revenues, and the massive loss of productivity and business that occurs when hundreds of thousands of people are without power for days and weeks. It is a financial and budgetary winner.

As a bonus, we get our neighborhoods clean of old telephone poles and spider-webs of hanging wires everywhere. Time to enter the 21st century, Long Island.

Scott Salvato
Valley Stream