Which of the following is an example of a pole attachment that is often prohibited by law?

• A. Clotheslines
• B. Bird feeders
• C. Temporary signage
• D. Decorative flags

Answer: (A)

Pole attachments on utility infrastructure are tightly regulated because they can affect safety and service reliability. A clothesline stretched between a building and a pole is a common example that many jurisdictions explicitly prohibit. Such lines can sag or whip in the wind, come into contact with live conductors, or snag on equipment, creating shock hazards for people and increasing the risk of outages. They also complicate pole maintenance and can obstruct crews when they need access to the pole or its hardware. While other items might be restricted in some places, they don’t typically pose the same direct, widespread safety and reliability concerns as a clothesline attached to a pole. That combination of clear safety risk and maintenance impact is why clotheslines are often illegal as pole attachments.