Seddon residents are demanding that Maribyrnong council acts on the poor state of streets and laneways.
Seddon Street resident Stephen McIvor-Smith said repeated requests for the council to clean neighbourhood streets and lanes had been ignored, leaving residents to put up with weed and rubbish-infested thoroughfares.
Complaints include broken bluestones, concrete rubble, broken glass, nails, syringes, vegetation, litter and rodents.
Mr McIvor-Smith said people had been fighting for at least 15 years to have the council properly clean streets and laneways.
“People make a concerted effort to log a complaint, but nothing is followed through,” he said. “Council now ignores our requests instead of working with us to develop sustainable solutions to address our concerns.”
Residents argue that council rates are rapidly increasing while basic services, such as street cleaning, are not keeping up.
Mr McIvor-Smith said many residents who once used laneway access to park at the rear of their properties were forced to take up valuable space on the street.
Mayor Grant Miles agreed it was the council’s responsibility to keep roadways clean. “I would encourage any residents who have any problems with dumped rubbish or weeds or anything else to contact council,” he said. ‘‘Anyone not having any luck contacting council through the usual channels should contact their ward councillor at any time; that’s what we are there for.”
But Seddon Street resident Nikki Crawcour said that, too, had been tried, without success.
“They’re not giving us the services we are paying for in our rates,” she said.
‘‘We have safety concerns about the cleanliness. There are rodents and we even had a dead possum that has turned into a skeleton.”
Ms Crawcour said the council had ignored suggestions such as regular street sweeping, even though residents said they were happy to park their cars elsewhere to allow for cleaning to take place.
