Locals rejoice as Aussie council finally backs down over 'useless' road feature
Sydneysiders say the site was responsible for numerous crashes. Council has listened to the complaints and taken action.
After years of campaigning from fed-up locals, a bizarre beachfront planter box which was responsible for numerous accidents and was the root of dozens of complaints, has finally been removed by council.
Residents of Coogee, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, have long been complaining about the concrete planter box that was placed in the middle of the road on the corners of Arden Street and Coogee Bay Road.
For at least two years locals criticised the box, which sometimes housed a tree and other times did not — which council claims was a result of "vandalism". Drivers said they regularly mounted the blocks that guarded the tree space, with multiple reports of damaged cars.
'Useless' planter box in middle of road responsible for numerous accidents, locals say
Many members of the community came forward to criticise its positioning, deeming it "useless" and questioning why council thought the left-hand lane on a busy beachfront thoroughfare was a suitable position for a tree.
When asked by Yahoo previously, a Randwick City spokesperson said removing the blocks wasn't "an option" because "trees add a lot of value to an urban environment".
Though as the years and months rolled by, the box became the site of many accidents. One as recent as last week, Yahoo News Australia understands. However council insisted the blocks acted as a wheel stop for the parking spots directly in front of it.
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But locals say it's unsafe, with a Coogee man claiming in July he'd personally heard of "three cars that have smashed" into it in a single week.
However photos emerged on Wednesday showing contractors "finally" paving it over, giving many locals hope.
Speaking to Yahoo, a council spokesman confirmed the box is no more. "This tree on Coogee Bay Road has been subject to continual vandalism for a number of years with Council being forced to replace the tree on six occasions," he said.
"The coastal location and condition of the pit has also made establishing the tree in this location challenging. Given these ongoing issues, Council is removing the tree and the tree surround.”
Coogee residents react after road hazard 'finally' removed
Online, eastern suburbs locals rejoiced at hearing the news.
"Well done — stupid bloody idea to put it there in the first place," one man said. "Great job driving some sense into those galoots." "Wow — what a weird place to put something — glad they are fixing it," a woman said.
"OMG! it's finally happened," wrote a man. "I don’t know why Randwick Council love planting trees where it will block the view of oncoming cars [and] pedestrians... especially at intersections. Super strange," somebody else said.
Meanwhile, another local ominously joked: "Don’t get too exited, maybe they're replacing it with something bigger".
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