Tree destruction

THIS month’s award for the biggest waste of taxpayers money must go to the VicRoads initative for the wholesale removal and destruction of the trees in the median strip on the freeway between Berwick and Beaconsfield.
Not only were these trees more asthetically pleasing, fundamental in reducing noise, they were also contributing in the offsetting of carbon emissions.
These trees are not being removed as many would think to facilitate widening works on the freeway to ease the current peak hour congestion, but merely to put up cable barriers down the middle of the freeway.
No doubt these too will be pulled up in the not too distance future to facilitate widening works, just like they did between Stud Road and Heatherton Road, recently after barriers had been installed.
Yes, this is definitely another case of an absolute waste of taxpayers’ money.
Gary Gow-Brown,
Cardinia.