Residents slam ‘sneaky’ repairs

By Dion Teasdale
EAST Warburton resident Ron Howard has accused the Shire of Yarra Ranges of being sneaky and underhanded with repairs works on Big Pats Creek Road.
Mr Howard, who has been campaigning for the road to be widened, said he caught shire contractors covering up the road’s dangerous shoulders last week.
“I went out early on Monday morning and shire contractors were grading the edges of the road and covering all the defects with a layer of gravel,” he said.
“They’ve done a damn sneaky thing. Instead of doing the job properly, they are just trying to cover the problem up.”
Last month Mr Howard accused the shire of botching repair works along the road, labelling spray sealing works completed in March as cheap, shoddy and dangerous.
He told the Mail he and other Big Pats Creek Road residents had been expecting the shire to address ongoing safety concerns about the width of the road and the condition of the road’s shoulders.
At the time, the shire defended the repair works, saying residents had been notified of the spray sealing, that widening the road was not on the agenda and that the road had been tentatively earmarked for grading works in the future.
Mr Howard, who has invited mayor Monika Keane to inspect the condition of the road on foot with local residents, said he was disappointed the grading work happened last week.
“They knew we were going to get Monika up here to have a look at how bad the road is, and they’ve snuck here and covered up all the trouble spots,” he said.
“They graded the edges of the road, but that isn’t the solution we were after.
“The shoulders need widening, but instead they come up here and attempt a cover-up.”
Shire of Yarra Ranges’ manager of community relations, James Martin, denied the shire was being underhanded. “Residents along Big Pats Creek Road wanted the shire to grade the sides of the road and that’s what we’ve done,” he said.
“This was not sneaky, nor was it a quick fix or a knee-jerk reaction to the residents concerns.
“These works were programmed on request and now we are being criticised for doing the job.”
Mr Martin urged Big Pats Creek Road residents to press on with plans to meet with Cr Keane.
“Even though the grading work has been done, residents can still point out their concerns to Monika and she’ll take them on board.”