Supergrass! Councils fall behind on verge mowing

Wet weather and contracting issues have some western suburbs streets looking like a jungle. Councils insist they’re dealing with it, but residents wish they’d chop-chop.

Howard Holman says the verge grass in his Athol Park street hasn't been mowed for months and is waist high in places. Picture: Tom Huntley

Welcome to the (urban) jungle.

Rain, warm weather and a lagging mowing schedule has resulted in verges in our western suburbs looking more savanna than suburban.

And while farmers across the state are revelling in the perfect growing conditions, residents in suburbs like Athol Park, Woodville North and Greenacres are less thrilled.

Howard Holman, 74, lives in Athol Park and said the overgrown verge – which is waist high in some areas – could be a health hazard to people with allergies as much of the grass had gone to seed, filling the air with pollen.

If it’s not cut before it dries, he said, it could also pose a fire risk.

Mr Holman said he was lucky enough to have a neighbour who cut the grass in front of his home, but many weren’t so fortunate.

The overgrown grass isn’t just an eyesore, says Howard Holman – it’s a health hazard for people with allergies, and a fire hazard too. Picture: Tom Huntley

“The whole area is like it,” Mr Holman said.

“The verges haven’t been cut for months. The last contact I had with the (Charles Sturt) council they said a contract hadn’t been fulfilled, but that they’d found a new contractor and the mowing would be finished by Thursday. Well they haven’t been touched.

“If you’re a day late paying your rates you get a penalty, but this is long overdue.”

Barbara Graham shows the overgrown grass in her Woodville street.

On its social media channels the City of Charles Sturt posted a statement that read: “You may have noticed the grass on some of the verges across our City is a little long due to our verge mowing running behind schedule. In October we are bringing on a new contractor, and we are currently investigating alternative solutions to address the backlog.”

The City of Port Adelaide Enfield posted a similar statement, stating in part that: “Recent heavier than usual rain along with the sun has made the grass grow quicker than usual, however we are working through this on our usual mowing cycle. We also have some delays due to the fact we cannot mow when it is raining heavily. We have eight mowing teams on the road every day … they are currently working hard to catch up.”

Comments in response included, “Reported a verge near me. Weeds are about to completely cover the footpath so tripping hazard so hopefully mowed soon” and “So, if we cut our own does that mean our rates are cheaper?”

Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield are two of only a handful of councils that mow verges, with most leaving the task to residents.