Warwick resident Julie Watson could be forgiven for ‘road rage’ as a result of the poor condition of roads close to her home.
The Gilchrist Road resident is fed up with the condition of her street as well as the connecting Mullins Road and as such is preparing a submission to the Southern Downs Regional Council.
Mrs Watson said there were a number of inexperienced drivers on their Learners or Provisional plates living on Gilchrist Road and she was concerned about their safety as a result of the many potholes and other obstructions in the area.
But she was even more worried by the constant dust from Gilchrist Road that covers her house, in which her 78-year-old asthmatic mother resides.
“It gets very dusty inside. It’s not good having a dusty environment; it’s a health issue,” Mrs Watson said.
Although Gilchrist Road services only seven households, Mrs Watson believes the council should be able to do a more permanent solution than occasionally grading the ‘gravel’ road.
Even this causes concern for the local resident who believed the road surface was no longer ‘gravel’.
However, according to Southern Downs Regional Council director of engineering services Peter See, “Gilchrist Road is a gravel road, which meets the basic standard”.
“It will be maintained when crews are next in the area if it is warranted,” Mr See said.
A council spokesperson said Gilchrist Road had been graded just three weeks ago.
“The council’s road maintenance budget is proportionally overspent for this stage of the financial year. The council crews are working five days a week maintaining roads,” Mr See said.
“If people have complaints about their roads they need to ring the council’s customer service number (4661 0300) or write to the council.
“There are 3000 kilometres of roads and we simply do not know the condition of every road at all times,” he said.
Story: Rebecca Brown
