Drivers erupt as Aussie roads inundated with growing danger: '400 per cent increase'
In Victoria, locals are speaking out in numbers over what they said was the state's dangerously overgrown median strips, which some argued was a fire hazard.
Australians are sounding the alarm over overgrown weeds and shrubs invading median strips and obstructing drivers' views around one east coast state. Some warn the dry grass, which they say remains largely unmanaged, is a fire hazard ahead of summer, branding the issue "disappointing and frustrating".
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Danny Gorog, CEO of Snap Send Solve — a mobile app that allows users to report various local issues directly to the relevant authorities — said Victoria has the highest rate of complaints when it comes to median strip issues in the country.
They said in October this year, the rate at which residents spoke out about the problem more than doubled in a month. "Snap Send Solve found a significant 233 per cent increase in reports of trees and overgrown vegetation sent to VicRoads in October compared to the previous month," the spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
"[It also found] a 403 per cent year-over-year increase, with descriptions frequently mentioning 'strip,' 'grass,' 'visibility,' or 'trees.'"
When questioned by Yahoo News, a spokesperson for VicRoads said it has workers out mowing arterial roadsides across the state as part of planned maintenance, focusing on areas it deemed of highest risk first.
The spokesperson said crews will undertake an additional mow of the network throughout the warmer months. On average, the department managed 45,000 kilometres of roadside grass and weeds each year.
The Department of Transport and Planning is responsible for maintaining approximately 22,000km of freeways and arterial roads throughout Victoria, including more than 19,000km in regional and rural parts of the state.
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Unmanaged median strip shrubs a hazard for drivers and pedestrians
Unmanaged median strips in Australia often raise concerns about safety, aesthetics, and maintenance, with Victoria appearing to lead the country when it comes to resident complaints.
Overgrown vegetation on these strips can obstruct visibility for drivers, creating hazardous road conditions for pedestrians as well. The neglect has long frustrated Aussie communities, especially in areas where median strips were previously well-kept.
In Rowville in Melbourne's southeast, where the issue appears to be particularly prevalent, local man David Hastings said he's fed up with inaction on both local and state levels of government.
"The medium strips are severely overgrown, they are not maintained. It becomes a hazard, you can't see the traffic," Hastings told 9News. "If you are sitting in the car, you can't see. The turnaround time is a long period. I reported an incident on Wellington Road about two weeks ago."
According to Hastings, he was told by VicRoads the division was "inundated" by complaints on the topic. They encouraged him to wait for maintenance crews to get around to it.
"It's disappointing but frustrating. When we moved here maybe 28 years ago, the place was regularly maintained and cleaned. It seems we have lost our pride and passion. I don't understand why," he said.
Another local who spoke to the outlet warned the grass "just keeps growing" and "with the fire season coming up, it could cause a fire". "It's getting to the point where it's blocking out signs so it's twofold the fire hazard and the signage problem," he said.
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