By BRIDGET SCOTT
A KOOWEERUP resident is disgusted that she may be forced to fork out money to pay for a road which she believed should have been sealed years ago.
Janelle Harris said Moody Street in Kooweerup has been dangerous since before her and her partner moved to the area in 2010.
She was outraged when she received a letter from Cardinia Shire Council last week which indicated that residents nearby may have to pay some of the cost if the council seals the road.
“Just because we moved into an estate that happens to be around the corner, you don’t think you will have to pay for the road to be fixed,” she said.
Ms Harris said she and everyone she knows from the area avoided the road due to its hazards.
“It’s full of pot holes and is rarely maintained,” she said.
The Kooweerup Primary School is located along this street, as well as a bus depot.
Ms Harris said this means there are “tonnes of buses going over it each day and destroying it.”
Ms Harris, who lives in the estate on the corner of Moody Street and Denhams Road, added that it was wrong that the council deemed her property adjacent to the road, despite the fact that it did not adjoin Moody Street.
“I don’t see how we are at all adjacent to that road,” she said.
“I could understand if we were directly adjoined or if it was right out the front of my property.”
Ms Harris said the road should have been updated before a new estate was built in the area.
Cardinia Shire Council’s Manager for Assets and Development Paul Richardson said there have been more frequent requests to seal the road and residents may have to contribute to the cost if the works go ahead.
“Over the past few years, more cars have been using Moody Street due to resident and industrial subdivisions at the northern end of the road,” he said.
“The proposed construction scheme would be developed in accordance with council’s Special Rates and Charges Scheme Policy which would require financial contribution from benefitting residents and council to fund the road improvements.”
He said the council has made contact with local residents to seek their interest in contributing to sealing the road.
“Council has identified the required works and estimated cost involved.
“Council has made contact with residents to gauge their interest in contributing to the scheme,” he said.
“Early estimates show the project would cost about $437,000, of which council proposes to contribute $145,000.”
Mr Harris said she was concerned that the only way it would be sealed was if residents were to pay for one third of this, which she thought was unfair.
“Most of us don’t even use it,” she said.
