Danger strip concerns

By Melissa Grant
RESIDENTS along Racecourse Road North are outraged about the lack of maintenance to a strip of land between them and the highway.
They say the land is infested with rats, snakes, bees, rubbish and blackberries and is posing a serious fire hazard.
Resident John Bawerman said the current state of the land was as bad has he had ever seen it.
“It’s been like this for 20 years and I’ve been complaining for 20 years and it’s getting worse,” he said.
Mr Bawerman said the land had become a dumping ground for those wanting to get rid of general household rubbish and truckies regularly dumped tyres there.
He said the land posed a serious risk to those living nearby, especially children.
“We have three school buses calling in morning and night. It’s unacceptable,” Mr Bawerman said.
“Rat holes extend right along, 10 truck tyres have been dumped and there are six to eight lots of blackberry bushes.
“It’s a fire ready to happen.”
Wife Kathy Bawerman agreed.
“If a fire starts we’re all in trouble,” she said.
Graham McAuslan, who also lives nearby, said dead trees and those growing next to powerlines were also a concern.
“These trees are so high that they are a target for lightning strikes,” he said.
“One day a branch is going to fall off on top of a passing car.”
Robert Palmer, who has lived in Racecourse Road North for 17 years, said the lack of maintenance was a disgrace.
“It’s getting terrible now,” he said.
“People travelling through just throw their food here.
“I’ve had a pet mouse in the house and I don’t know where he came from but I assume it’s from over here.”
Mr Palmer said the state of the land was disappointing considering it wouldn’t take much effort to clean it up.
“I don’t believe it would cost a lot of money, it just needs to be clean and cut,” he said.
Mr McAuslan said residents were sick of authorities handballing responsibility and wanted something done about the situation before it was too late.
“We just want the organisation that’s responsible for the patch to put their hands up and do something about it,” he said.
VicRoads, which residents say owns the land, didn’t respond to inquiries from the News before it went to print.