By Renee Wood
A Yarra Junction resident is raising concerns around open storm water drains which he deems to be a safety hazard.
Peter has been living in the area for 11 years and said the open drains, in particular at the corner of Peppercorn Place and Hoddle Street, are dangerous.
“I have always been concerned and alarmed about the fact that the council have never pursued anything in terms of trying to rectify what is potentially a major, major hazard to the community, from a safety point of view and a sanitation point of view,” he said.
Peter has witnessed members of the community fall into the drainage at that area.
“There was a resident who actually toppled his ride on lawnmower into the open drainage system there, not on one or two occasions, but on three occasions.”
The resident is hoping council will review and look into upgrades to ensure no further accidents can happen.
“If an elderly person, or any person for that matter, is walking down the adjacent paths, they could easily slip and fall down the embankment and into the drains, and they’re quite large and quite deep, and would easily accommodate an adult, because that’s how big they are.”
“What I’d like to see coming out of this is that the council acknowledge it and identify that it is a problem and they will definitely start looking into the matter.”
Mark Varmalis, YRC Director Environment and Infrastructure, said “We encourage the community to reach out to us by phone or by lodging a request on our website if they have concerns regarding road or drainage issues in their area.”
