Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Mount Dandenong Road–Wicklow Avenue, Croydon

David HODGETT (Croydon) (19:04): (1302) My adjournment today is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to ask the Department of Transport and Planning to urgently clear the overgrown blackberry bushes that are overhanging the footpath on the pedestrian refuge at the corner of Mount Dandenong Road and Wicklow Avenue in Croydon.

Minister, this is not a new issue. My office wrote to VicRoads a couple of years ago requesting this area be cleaned up, and yet despite the passage of time and the growing concern from residents, the problem remains unresolved. This pedestrian refuge is heavily used, not only by general foot traffic but also by senior residents from the nearby retirement village on Wicklow Avenue. These residents have expressed their concern about the overgrown blackberries, which pose a physical hazard. They are worried about being scratched or injured while simply trying to cross the road safely.

Indeed, this is one of many areas around the electorate that is under the responsibility of the Department of Transport and Planning and VicRoads that is unkept or unmaintained. It is disappointing when you go to other states or other regions and see townships or cities that are kept clean and tidy – the nature strips are done, the gutters are clean, all the bushes are trimmed back, and it makes it a place to show pride in and be proud of. This is just an overgrown clump of blackberry bushes that grows out over the footpath that really impedes people walking past. As I said, some of the elderly residents and a number of local constituents have raised concerns, worried about being scratched or injured, let alone the eyesore that this creates as you come down Mount Dandenong Road and into Croydon, which is really the gateway of the Dandenongs and the Yarra Valley – to be met by that.

This is a basic safety and accessibility issue, and it should be a priority to remove this patch of invasive blackberries that is overhanging the footpath. I urge the minister to take immediate action and ensure the department of transport prioritises the removal of these blackberries so that all pedestrians, especially our older residents, can use this crossing safely and with confidence.