WARRAGUL // THE BAW Baw Shire Council has filled the holes it dug in the Queen Street road surface for tree plantings while it continues remedial community consultation on the project.
Above: Wholly filled: one of the filled holes, seen earlier today. Photos: William PJ Kulich.
The beautification works came to an abrupt halt last week after traders and cyclists raised concerns about the trees being planted in the shared bike and parking lane.
ADVERTISEMENT
Baw Baw community assets director Phil Cantillon told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen today the filling of the 1×1.5 metre holes was prompted by safety concerns.
“The cut-outs are being filled temporarily to ensure the safety of users in this area while we work through a solution,” he said in an email.
“While a precise solution has not yet been finalised, ongoing discussions have occurred with VicRoads, key cycling representatives and the Warragul Business Group on potential options.”
VicRoads approved the project and on Wednesday Mr Cantillon told WBBC he considered the then-empty holes safe.
ADVERTISEMENT
Related:
- ‘Disappointing’ bike path tree planting
- Baw Baw hears Queen Street tree concerns
- Bike lane trees highlight a larger problem
Above: one of the holes earlier this week.
I certainly don’t pay $1600 in rates per year to have a tree planted on the road. It’s both unsafe for cyclist and other vehicles. What a complete joke. Fix the roads rather then digging them up. What gives them the right to spend rate payers money on what ever they like? Maybe spend the money on the issue’s our community faces. Pretty sure we don’t have a shortage of plants.
I don’t know what I am Paying over $3000 in rates and have no place to walk safely on Waterloo Road, major road traffic and truck, need payments to walk on, even just on one side of the road.
Once again, incompetence by the BBSC. how much did it cost to scope the project? how much did itcos to dig the holes? how much has it cost to fill in the holes? time to appoint skilled, competent senior managers, councillors and staff at BBSC. so sick and tired of continous mistakes time and time again. for example, 2 years running, they can’t even get annual rates notices out on time in one batch. We pay $3,000 in rates! In drouin area, we don’t have proper drainage/stormwater drains, no underground lighting, no footpaths. But thats okay, we’ll soon have a McDonalds store, we’ll still have pot holes, lack of parking…and beautified streets in warrsgul. Time to bring in a whole new team to run this shire competently.
Yeah, I don’t like paying over $2,000 in rates either, but please stop trying to assassinate the council because they might have stuffed something up!
(Even though… “Designs for the streetscape works were assessed and approved by VicRoads prior to works commencing. As a part of the consultation, a letter was hand-delivered to the adjoining landowners and all nearby businesses (May 2015) along with a copy of that letter posted to the Warragul Business Group (June 2015).”)
Yes, things can improve, but are you perfect? We love to have an outcry when someone puts a step wrong. How about we look at the big picture and consider all the good things that happen that go unnoticed, then we might be disposed to allow some leeway when things can, and do, go wrong.
Am I being unreasonable?