By ANEEKA SIMONIS
DANGEROUS trees that posed a safety threat to residents are in the process of being removed, following years of campaigning.
Around 200 diseased and dying Monterey cypress trees are being removed from a 1.3 kilometre stretch of Nine Mile Road after being described as an “unacceptable risk” to road users and nearby infrastructure such as powerlines.
“Large branches are falling from the trees, which are either dead or close to dying. As the disease progresses, the risk of these branches striking a person or vehicle, or damaging surrounding infrastructure is increasing,” Cardinia Shire mayor Leticia Wilmot said.
“It’s a risk we simply cannot take.”
Tynong resident Melissa Rolfe said she and several other residents had campaigned council for the past 14 years to remove the dangerous trees which sometimes caused her to “avoid leaving home” out of fear of being injured by the old, unreliable trees.
“They regularly fall over the road in high winds and have caused much property damage over the years … mainly to fences and gates,” she said.
Ms Rolfe operates a health care business out of her Tynong home, and said a tree falling on nearby power lines can set off a chain of negative and costly consequences.
“It can cause a multitude of problems from rescheduling clients to loss of refrigerated food, and of course the road closures,” she said.
“A few years back, we had a tree come down over our drive which had us unable to get out for several days.
“The trees have resulted in us having to make several insurance claims for the damage to fencing and gates and have cost us plenty in insurance excess.”
The removal of the trees, affected with cypress canker, began on Monday 20 April.
All trees were burnt on-site to prevent the spread of disease.
Council will be taking suggestions about what type of tree should be replanted in the area which lines the new Pakenham Racing Club.
