By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
MEMBERS of the Hills community don’t feel safe driving on certain roads in the area that need urgent repairs.
A water main leak at the intersection of Mast Gully Road and Elliott Road in Upwey and the deteriorating condition of Mount Morton Road in Belgrave Heights have caused local residents to speak out.
Bill McMahon from Upwey has seen a water main leak in the middle of Mast Gully Road become increasingly more hazardous since it started leaking through the road surface in November last year.
“It’s been patched on and off for years before this, but it’s never really been fixed properly,” Mr McMahon said.
The water leaking through the surface of the road and pooling under the road surface has caused the road to sag in places and the surface to erode.
“It’s such a waste of water, it’s pouring out like that,” Mr McMahon said.
“I’m really worried it’s going to cause a serious accident.”
A spokesperson from South East Water said on Friday 29 January the leak was not part of the water system they manage but it was a known issue.
“The leak on Mast Gully Road is due to a failure in a nearby privately owned water supply service.”
“While it is usually the responsibility of the property owner to maintain private mains infrastructure, South East Water has worked with the owner on a plan for repair, and we expect the leak to be fixed early next week,” the spokesperson said.
Another group of residents have raised concerns about the condition of Mount Morton Road in Belgrave Heights and the safety of drivers using the road.
Jason Bell was a professional motorbike rider and car stunt driver who has lived near the road for 15 years and says the road is in the worst condition he has ever seen it.
“It’s graded four times a year, but it deteriorates in less than a week after it’s graded,” he said.
“Residents and visitors alike cannot use the road safely and we are sick of Band-Aid solutions that don’t last.”
A group of residents have made multiple requests to council over the last four months to have the road corrected with a lasting solution, such as sealing the surface or grading it more frequently.
“The dust is also awful, I can’t even enjoy sitting outside with my 10-month-old daughter,” local resident Elise Gittus said.
Yarra Ranges Director of Environment and Engineering Mark Varmalis said council had proposed a special charge scheme to surface the road but there wasn’t enough support.
“Council has surveyed residents of that section of Mount Morton Road three times over the past 10 years to gauge their support for a special charge scheme to construct the road.”
“However, on each occasion, less than 70 per cent of landowners were in support,” Mr Varmalis said.
“The last survey of residents was undertaken in 2013. Council would be happy to reconsider a special charge scheme for the road if there was more landowner support.”
Residents of Mount Morton Road said the last special charge scheme that was proposed would require $18,000 per household to surface the road on top of yearly rate costs to households.
“Rates keep going up and we are getting nothing for it,” resident of Mount Morton Road Ed Crisp said.
