Whipper-snipper councillor calls for more action from Vic Roads

A lack of maintenance by Vic Roads staff has caused one Sunbury councillor to get out his whipper-snipper to cut the grass himself. Councillor Jack Medcraft says he trimmed the overgrowth at an Elizabeth Dr roundabout.

The admission came during a meeting of Hume City Council where he asked that Melissa Horne, the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, commit to regular maintenance of roundabouts and berms, and remove graffiti.

Cllr Medcraft pointed to graffiti on the Station St bridge saying it is “insulting and offensive”.

“I don’t know how many times I have asked our local member Josh Bull [MP] to clean the graffiti, particularly on the railway bridge at Station Street,” said Cllr Medcraft on Monday 13 May. 

“I find it offensive that some imbecile can get up there, take the risk of falling off, and then graffiti over artwork that tells the story of Aboriginal history. I just cannot believe the mentality of some people.”

Turning to the bridge at Jacksons Creek, Cllr Medcraft said graffiti there is “a disgrace”. But graffiti at Vineyard Rd, that features an offensive word, led to him picking up the phone.

“I contacted Vic Roads and they said they only come out when [graffiti] is offensive. Well, guess what? The writing on the wall was ‘I don’t give a ****  what you think’.

“I thought they [Vic Roads] would come out and clean it all off. No. They just covered the offensive word. They left the rest [of the words] there. Are we that strapped for cash that we can’t afford to paint over it or clean it off?”

Cllr Medcraft says he took his whipper-snipper out to a roundabout on Elizabeth Dr to cut the grass. 

“We even had a lady at midnight cutting the grass,” he said. “People are so fed up they are taking it upon themselves. I hope this hits a nerve and we get these things properly done.”

Cllr Chris Hollow, Meadow Valley ward, said the issue of Vic Roads not carrying out maintenance goes beyond Sunbury.

Cllr Joseph Haweil, Aitken ward, successfully requested that Cllr Medcraft’s notice of motion be amended to include the whole of Hume City.

Councillor agreed the following:

Council writes to the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Hon Melissa Horne requesting that:

1. Vic Roads commit to a regular maintenance service of roundabouts and median strips (including edging) on roads that are the responsibility of the Victorian Government in Sunbury [and Hume]
2. Vic Roads clean the graffiti on the cutting of Vineyard Rd and Macedon St including the new bridge over Jackson’s creek in Sunbury
3. The Department of Transport and Planning clean off the graffiti on the railway bridge across Station Street in Sunbury