Mitcham: trucks damaging trees on Alwyn St, Brunswick Rd
Mitcham’s streets are being “ripped apart” by oversized trucks destroying trees and putting children and pedestrians at risk, with some neighbours even considering moving house.
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Mitcham’s leafy residential streets are being destroyed by truckies, some in massive B-doubles, using them as shortcuts.
Trees are being smashed by the oversized vehicles, while the increased traffic is stopping children playing in the streets, say residents, who say they’re considering moving because of the problem.
B-double trucks — two trailers behind a truck, measuring up to 27.5m long — speeding along Mitcham streets damaged two trees in one week earlier this month, leaving them blocking the roads.
One truck sped down Alwyn St on October 7, breaking a huge branch off a mature oak tree, splitting the limb in two and damaging the truck’s side mirror.
The truck driver didn’t stop and a fed-up resident chased the truck to capture its registration and photos of its damage.
Days later on October 11 a truck hit a gum tree on Brunswick Rd, causing the entire tree be ripped from the ground, and police and the SES workers then had to move it off the road.
Neighbours say these kinds of “truck hits” are not uncommon in Mitcham.
Tommy Braas, who has lived on Alwyn St for 12 years, said oversized trucks used the road “many, many times a day” even though signs at each end indicated vehicles heavier than 4.5 tonnes were not allowed on the street
“It’s a constant stream all day long,” he said.
Mr Braas said trucks had hit the oak tree on the nature strip outside his house at least five times, with one crash taking out the roof of a truck.
He said another oversized truck using the street had taken out a tree and the powerlines next to it.
Mr Braas said he was worried limbs falling off the affected trees were dangerous to passers-by.
“These are heavy limbs,” he said. “They’re thicker than my thigh.”
“They could easily crush a car and potentially injure and kill a pedestrian.”
Mr Braas said the high number of trucks using the narrow street was ruining the amenity of the area and causing people like he and his wife to consider moving away.
“Kids aren’t out playing because it’s just too dangerous,” he said.
“The amount of traffic coming down our street is insane.”
Residents have taken to Facebook to similarly complain about the increased traffic situation and call for the truck drivers to be stopped.
“Everyone uses (Alwyn St) as a thoroughfare and speed all the time, it’s so dangerous especially with so many children around,” one wrote.
Others commented Burnett St had also been “ripped apart” by trucks and said Mitcham was losing too many of its older trees.
“It won’t be long before an innocent bystander is under one of the falling branches,” a Facebook user wrote.
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Whitehorse Council general manager city development Jeff Green said the only thing stopping truck drivers using public roads in Whitehorse was a ‘No Truck’ sign.
He said these signs would be installed at the ends of Alwyn St, but were not enforceable.
Mr Green said for heavy vehicle restrictions to be considered trucks would need to make up more than 50 per cent of a road’s traffic.
He said Alwyn St carried about 75 heavy vehicle trips each day, which was only about five per cent of its traffic, and “considered satisfactory”.
“Truck bans in local streets are rarely installed by councils within metropolitan Melbourne.”