Sydney council distances itself from hazardous electrical boxes sitting in middle of footpath

Sydneysiders have been left stunned after discovering multiple electrical boxes positioned almost in the middle of a footpath. Some say it sums up one of the city’s major issues.

Noor Shamune with her son Mohammad as they walk on the footpath on Bonar Street at Wolli Creek. They have to be mindful of an electrical box that is positioned quite far into the footpath. Picture: Richard Dobson

Sydneysiders have been left puzzled after discovering multiple electrical boxes positioned almost right in the middle of a footpath in a suburb in the city’s southeast.

At least three electrical boxes have appeared in the middle of a footpath on Bonar St in Wolli Creek, with Bayside Council telling The Daily Telegraph they were “installed by Ausgrid”.

But it is understood the boxes were installed in 2014 and the path has subsequently been widened, with aerial photos taken since that time showing one box has moved from the edge of the footpath into the middle.

A photo of one of the boxes has circulated online in recent days, with the user who shared the image on Reddit describing the situation as “development planning at its finest”.

The post has garnered more than 200 comments, one of which says the state of affairs “actually highlights the biggest issue with trades at the moment”.

One of the electrical boxes that is positioned almost in the middle of Bonar St in Wolli Creek. Picture: Richard Dobson

“Part of the reason houses are being built so horrifically bad ... is they don’t f--king talk to each other,” the user commented.

“Like they simply refuse to communicate if they see potential issues, it’s just written off as a not my problem someone else should’ve seen this coming.”

Another user joked it was “nice of the developers to install some stumps and a pitch for the kids to play cricket”.

Another commenter said they could “see at least two more down the road” and it “clearly looks like the electrical supply was already there and council has just put a footpath in with zero consideration given to what’s already there”.

Electrical boxes on Bonar St in Wolli Creek. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

But another reply said it was “hard to tell what happened”.

“(The) path looks renewed since 2020 … looks like the box also was moved to the middle of the path,” the user wrote.

“Shocking effort from everyone involved.”

Others were short and frank with their assessment of the boxes, saying “haha, classic Bayside Council” and another writing “this reminds me of that guy in China that refused to sell his house so they just built a freeway around him”.

An electrical box in the middle of the footpath in Wolli Creek. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Many saw the boxes as a hazard, with one writing “Rip (rest in peace) wheelchair access and blind people”.

A council spokeswoman told the Telegraph the footpath was “initially installed by the developer during construction in 2013”.

“Council is currently undertaking a project to improve accessibility in the area by installing ramps from the footpath to the road and widening a section of the footpath along Bonar Street, adjacent to the electrical box,” the spokeswoman said.