Can’t even take his dog for a walk

IT’S not just because 50 people have signed a petition that the Bass Coast Council has been urged to seal Bay Road and Foreshore Road between Jam Jerrup and the Lang Lang Foreshore Reserve.

Not only have the petitioners demonstrated that 70 per cent of local residents want the roads to be sealed but they’ve also put to council that their project is a special case.

At this Wednesday’s council meeting, councillors will be asked to consider the plight of a local disabled resident, who because of the parlous state of his road, he can get his motorised wheelchair out to take his dog for a walk.

You can’t imagine what a distressing situation that is unless you’re a dog owner yourself.

The petition reads in part:

“Being that we are a public beach we get a lot of tourist traffic and since COVID this has become increasingly worse, the dust is now becoming a health hazard too, particularly our drinking water.

“The road is constantly having to be graded (at council’s expense) due to corrugation caused by the amount of traffic we receive, particularly along Bay Road, residents are concerned about the damage caused to cars due to road conditions.”

The council is proposing to let the petition “lay on the table… until a future meeting” whenever that may be, but there’s also a strong case for bringing the issue forward for consideration, which is also an option open to the discretion of a compassionate council.

Section 54.1 of the Bass Coast Shire Council Governance Rules states that: “Unless Council resolves to deal with it earlier, no motion (other than a motion to receive the same) may be made on any petition, joint letter or other like application until a future Ordinary Council meeting after that at which it has been presented.”

Bring it on councillors!