Willow Glen residents and San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager's office complained about the barrage of pigeons congregating on the lines above the intersection, PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said.

"People waiting to cross the street were being bombarded by something they didn't expect," Smith said. "We wanted to see if we could do something to make it more pleasant."

The company turned to bird diverters, devices that had been long used to distract birds from electrical wires where they might be killed. The diverters form a criss-cross pattern that restricts their ability to land on the line. The company installed 31 diverters at the intersection in October.

According to PG&E, the diverters appear to have deterred some pigeons at the intersections and the city will monitor its effectiveness. This is the first time that PG&E has used the bird diverters in this capacity, Smith said.