By Esther Lauaki
A Hoppers Crossing resident fears pedestrians will be seriously injured because of the sinking, cracked footpath and nature strip outside his home.
Louis Zahra met councillors last week to push for repairs outside his Sycamore Street home after he narrowly avoided a tumble on
the fractured concrete at the end of his driveway.
“It’s been like that since we moved here about three years ago,” Mr Zahra said. “We’ve had a problem with sinking of the nature strip and the path for a while.”
He said development in the street had disturbed dirt beneath the footpath and that flooding around his property had become an issue.
The 67-year-old, who uses a mobility walker because of severe sciatica and heart problems, told councillors of his safety concerns.
“I’m walking with the walker and I hit my toe when I tripped up – that’s what made me speak up,” Mr Zahra said.
“I see workers fixing up the road but not fixing up the nature strips.
“You don’t realise how hard it is to avoid a fall on damaged footpaths until you’re sick … I hope they do something because someone is going to get hurt because there is a lot of elderly people who walk here and you can’t walk.”
Wyndham mayor Mia Shaw called Mr Zahra in April when he flagged his concerns about the footpath, saying she wanted to see the issue first-hand and discuss solutions.
“The matter is quite complex and council is now taking steps to investigate the best way forward to resolve Mr Zahra’s concerns,”
Cr Shaw said.
“As the reconstruction of this footpath is complex and affects infrastructure from other agencies, such as Melbourne Water and Powercor, we will work alongside them to address the issues.”
