Fatima Halloum
A concerned resident has asked Wyndham council to urgently fix the uneven footpaths in Watton Street and Station place.
Geoff Smith wrote to local council in March to bring attention to the “serious problem” which he says has caused continual trips and falls to pedestrians, including himself.
“It came to my notice a few weeks ago when one of the residents in the village that we live in, badly injured his arms and his hands by falling over on the corner of Station Place and Watton Street,” Mr Smith said.
“He was taken to the medical centre by two other people. He was heavily bandaged.”
Mr Smith said it was after the incident that he sent an email to all the councilors and the CEO.
“I’ve had three replies from the councilors, two say they’re aware of the problem and the other one said ‘we hope the guy gets better quickly’,” Mr Smith said.
“If they had known…people have been having accidents or even being injured…I just hope that the council would get off their backside and confront this problem urgently and get it rectified before many more people are injured.”
Wyndham councils city operations director Stephen Thorpe said footpaths in the Werribee CBD are audited to detect safety issues on a three month cycle.
‘Wyndham City is consistently working to fix any pavers that need replacing throughout our municipality,” Mr Thorpe said.
“If any footpaths are identified as part of the audit cycle then they are earmarked for replacement.”
Mr Thorpe said the affected areas are damaged by soil shifts, established trees and their root systems and impacts of utility infrastructure.
Wyndham council said they are working with the relevant authorities to have the spots fixed to make roads and footpaths safe.
