Hannah Hammoud
Long-time Keilor resident David Nugara has voiced his frustration with Brimbank council’s approach to footpath maintenance, highlighting the discrepancy between the replacement of concrete elsewhere and the neglect of broken footpaths in his court.
“Council is replacing perfectly good concrete, but they refuse to fix the broken concrete footpaths in the courts. There are footpaths that are cracked, and aren’t being fixed,“ Mr Nugara said.
According to Mr Nugara, the issue dates back to last year when council resealed the court roads but overlooked repairing broken footpaths and crossovers, despite residents’ requests for repairs.
Mr Nugara has criticised council’s spending decisions, and said that funds used for “unnecessary” footpath replacements could have been allocated to fixing the broken footpaths in the courts.
“Their logic is ludicrous. They’re re-doing straight stretches of footpaths. They’ve redone a lot of it that didn’t need to be redone. The money they spent could’ve been saved to fix the courts – there are four courts and none of the footpaths have been done,” he said.
“In my street they just destroyed a perfectly good corner pavement and less than 20 feet away from the corner pavement is a broken concrete footpath that they just won’t fix. It’s just madness.“
Mr Nugara said repeated appeals to council for footpath repairs have fallen on deaf ears.
“I’ve lived here for 50 years. The courts are no through traffic, so for them it must be out of sight out of mind,” he said.
The footpath of Mr Nugara’s residence in Tumut Court, Keilor, was inspected by council and not deemed a priority for replacement, due to council’s assessment of its condition, the cost and competing priorities.
“Council undertook resurfacing work in Tumut Court, Keilor in mid-2023; these works included road resurfacing and some kerb replacements. The footpaths were not deemed a priority for replacement at that time,” a council spokesperson said.
“Council is not aware of any unresolved issues with Tumut Court, Keilor, but are open to inspecting assets where there is a request to do so. Any issues relating the surfacing of footpaths can be reported directly to council for assessment and prioritising of remedial works.”
Mr Nugara is urging council to prioritise essential repairs over unnecessary replacements, with the spotlight remaining on council’s approach to infrastructure maintenance and allocation of resources.
“I think what’s happening here in Brimbank is a waste of ratepayers’ money. They’re destroying perfectly good footpaths, it’s just bizarre. Hundreds of feet of footpath are being replaced for no good reason. I hate to see public money wasted,” he said.
