ABUNDANT green growth this season is putting smiles on farmers’ faces but causing headaches for government authorities.
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Both Warrnambool City Council (WCC) and VicRoads admit the grass is growing quicker than they can mow it this season.
A WCC spokesman said prolific grass growth due to the abundance of rain in spring and so far this summer was presenting a challenge for its parks and gardens staff.
City infrastructure director Peter Robertson said the council’s parks and gardens staff were doing a great job but the rapid growth of grass meant some areas were not as well presented as they usually were.
“We’re moving as quickly as we can but there are many areas we will need to return to because of the fast growth of vegetation,” Mr Robertson said.
“We appreciate people’s patience as we work to get the city looking its best for the remainder of summer.”
VicRoads has implemented a big mowing program in an effort to keep down the grass on the sides of roads it is responsible for but a spokesman said it wasn’t likely to get to much of the south-west until next month.
VicRoads is responsible for the management of all roadside areas on freeways (excluding toll roads), all roadside areas on non-urban arterial roads and central medians on urban roadsides.
VicRoads regional director William Tieppo said median strips and roadside areas of roads, including the Princes Highway between Colac and Warrnambool, were scheduled to be mowed prior to Christmas.
“Remaining sections of the Princes Highway to Portland and other key highways including the Henty, Hopkins and Glenelg are programmed to be completed by the end of January,” Mr Tieppo said.
Mowing along some other major arterial south-west roads was presently under way with major roads such as the Princes Highway between Geelong and Colac already complete.
Mowing activities also include weed control, trimming vegetation such as trees and shrubs and clearing around road signs.
ehimmelreich@fairfaxmedia.com.au