COMMUNITY members say a street in the heart of Griffith has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Griffith councillor Simon Croce said the issue of the state of Benerembah Street directly behind council chambers had been raised by businesses and residents.
The street was designed by Walter Burley Griffith with a radius circle of one-and-a-half mile to accentuate the local government building at its centre.
Today, the side of the street facing away from Banna Ave has proven a cause for concern.
Cr Croce wants to see money put aside to invest in bringing the street up to par.
“I think the main issue is the lighting. There’s a fair bit of foot traffic, there’s a lot of flats – the backpackers – it’s quite a big population … it’s awfully dark and a bit scary to be honest. It’s probably a bit intimidating,” he said.
“Overall just looking at it, it’s not very attractive at all. I guess when Walter Burley Griffin first designed it … this was the top of town, the education hub and the council.”
Council also confirmed plans were in place to examine avenues for additional lighting across town as part of the next draft budget.
“As councillors we have to blame ourselves because we should have noticed these things. We’ll have to put some money in the budget to get it tidied up,” Cr Croce said.
RELATED:
Griffith City Council’s director for infrastructure and operations Phil King thanked residents for their feedback.
“Plans are now in place for additional lighting to be examined as part of the next draft budget 2019/20. Spacing of street lights in Griffith meet the minimum standard for vehicles tending to be concentrated at intersections. The current budget for new street lights is limited to one, possibly two each financial year.”
He said a number of things would need to be considered if the number of street lights were to increase.
“Unfortunately Benerembah Street is not presently pedestrian friendly due to limited paths and lighting. There are also a number of limitations to installing new street lights including poles and locations as well as circuit capacity.”
He also confirmed Griffith is part of a regional program called ‘Southern Lights’ aimed at replacing lamps in the local government area with LED, low voltage lamps.
Carmel La Rocca runs a business along the same street. She would like to see upgrades take place sooner rather than later.
“It’s a busy thoroughfare with traffic and one of the primary entries into Griffith. By fixing it all up and making it look good, it’ll benefit the residents and wider community too.”