By Tyler Wright
Yarra Ranges Council’s councillors voted to receive a petition for the sealing of Wiseman Road in Silvan in a council meeting on Tuesday 13 December.
There are eight valid signatures on the petition from residents calling on the council to seal the road via their Special Charge Scheme.
The issue of signage along the road was raised by Deputy Mayor Melba Ward Councillor Sophie Todorov in the meeting and will be adressed with the appropriate council officer along with the petition for the sealing of the road under a Special Charges Scheme.
One resident told the council he moved into Wiseman Road two years ago, and said recent weather events have led to the road deteriorating quickly and holes appearing.
He said he was almost not able to leave his property even in a four-wheel drive.
“We’d like to take to the council, under their special charges scheme, about going down the process of getting the road sealed, “ the resident said.
“First thing being safety, being a bushfire [and] storm zone in the area… there’s 10 residents on the road.
“The second reason is the water quality; nine out of 10 houses are all on tank water, and because of the additional dust and traffic, there’s additional things we have to do to treat our water tanks, mainly because on Google Maps it actually stills shows that the road goes through to Gum Gully Farm, which is incorrect.”
The resident said Gum Gully Farm is about 30 to 35 metres past his house – where Wiseman Road ends – meaning courier trucks and semi-trailers have had to use his driveway to redirect and are sometimes unable to get out of his driveway due to the condition of the road.
“The continuation of council having to come down and regrade the road and repair the road would be cost saving if we could look at getting the road sealed in that section,” he said.
Chandler Ward Councillor David Eastham moved the motion.
“We’ve had a couple of times where community have definitely flagged concerns over particular roads…I attended a meeting on Wiseman Road shortly after I was elected…there were a few different families involved and I definitely understand the concerns that you’ve raised,” Cr Eastham said.
Billanook Ward Councillor Tim Heenan seconded the motion.
“I’ve been down that road myself a few times gone by and I’m concerned, as Councillor Todorov said, about the signage,” Cr Heenan said.
“Do we know if there is signage along that road or are we assuming that it needs signage?
“Because if there is no signage, it would be very important to make sure we do have some notification [for] people coming down to a dead end part of that road.”
The motion to refer the petition and issue of signage to the appropriate council officer was carried unanimously.
