A HURSTVILLE man is on a mission to make the council put more effort into keeping the area clean and beautiful.
Michael Chang is constantly taking pictures of what he describes as the council's failure to do its job.
He has even created an online link so others can access the photos and see for themselves and put pressure on the council to "address the problems depicted in the disturbing images".
Mr Chang's gripes include:
■Stray cats at the corner of Forest Road and Hill Street. Also the grass is over two metres high: "When can residents expect a clean-up from the developer and a fine issued?" he asks.
■ Supermarket trolleys in the streets: "I saw 17 trolleys as I walked 250 metres home from Hurstville station last Friday night," he said. Mr Chang believes the council should insist that the supermarkets take more responsibility and install wheel locks.
■ An overgrown site near the East Quarter development: "Is this council or landowner's responsibility? What will be put in place to implement a permanent fix?"
■ Durham Street traffic: "Signs and a traffic island won't make the number of cars disappear," Mr Chang said. "The problem is the 24- hour gym, two tutoring centres and a tae kwon do school in such close proximity should never have been given planning approval. Where do people park?
"Add to the fact that there will be hundreds more cars when East Quarter stage 3 and 4 are built.
"Meanwhile, there are hundreds of empty spaces in the East Quarter car park and parents double parking in Jack Brabham Drive or illegally parking."
■ Fencing at Kempt Field and cracks on the walking track: "Kempt Field must be one of the biggest parks in Australia without play equipment.
"I'm amazed that an old granny hasn't fallen on that footpath and broken a hip. Immediate and permanent fixes are required, not Band-Aid solutions."
■ Dumped rubbish: "That black bag next to an electricity substation could be anything. Surely in today's world of heightened alertness to terrorism, council can show some urgency?
"I invite you all to walk through this area yourselves," Mr Chang said.
"Then put your hand on your heart and ask if the above occurred in your own neighbourhood, would you think it's acceptable?
COUNCIL SAYS
A council spokeswoman said Hurstville Council was actively working to tackle the concerns raised by Mr Chang.
‘‘The council has an ongoing program to remove illegally dumped rubbish, including from the nominated site,’’ she said.
‘‘For information, from January to March 2015, the council has removed more than 44 tonnes of garbage from the local government area. Additionally, the barricades have also been collected.
‘‘A large number of stray cats have already been removed from the site and the council is continuing to collect the animals on a regular basis.
‘‘In relation to the issues regarding dumped shopping trolleys, ‘No parking’ in the commuter car park and electricity poles, the council is not responsible and has referred these matters to the relevant organisations and authorities for action.
‘‘Finally, the council is reviewing all capital works projects for the 2015-16 financial year including playground equipment upgrades. Kempt Field will be considered by the council accordingly.’’
"I was at the bank on Tuesday at Hurstville. An elderly lady lining up behind me said to her daughter, 'Hurstville used to be such a nice town. Now it's just filthy'."
Do you know of other areas with similiar problems that the council should fix?
