Laneway maintenance saga

I was reading in the Peninsula News edition 296 (23 July) on the front page and on page 4 that Crown Rd, Springwood St, and Lone Pine Ave are listed for rehabilitation and I'm seeing red.

I live in Mackenzie Ave, Woy Woy, and have live in the area all my life and been a rate payer for over 20 years.

I have rung Gosford Council on three occasions.

First on February 15 with Simon Ref No 11204614, on the second occasion on March 15 Ilonka follow up no 113709825 and on the third time March 20 with Leanne.

I was told to ring Woy Woy Council Depot so I did and spoke to Marie on the same day.

Within an hour or so a Council road maintenance truck came down the road so I went out to see what they were doing.

All they did was throw down some tar on the road, then one of the Council workers got out of the truck and walked over to me, got in my face and started abusing me, swearing and yelling at me.

I tried to calm him down but this just made him more aggressive so I walked away and went inside my house and rang Gosford Council and told them what just happened.

I got a phone call about two hours later from Jay Spare at Gosford Council wanting to meet with me.

I arranged to meet with him on the same day at 3.25pm and explained to him what happened.

He then tried to smooth things over with me.

I asked him about the rear lane way and told him it hasn't been graded in nearly two years where all the other lane ways have been graded.

For some reason our lane way kept being missed.

He said there was not much that could be done about our street but something should be able to be done about the lane way.

Well not a thing was done to the lane way in three months then one day I was on my way home and I saw the Council grader in the laneway near mine so I stopped and asked the foremen and told him about my lane way and he came to have a look.

Three days later (not three months) the Council grader gang came to do the lane way and is now much better.

Mackenzie Ave is in need of repair and drainage.

In my rates I pay drainage of $82.52 which doesn't exist in this street.

The state of this street and the shoulders is a total disgrace and a liability suite just waiting to happen.

When it rains the road floods that much, the water is up to the kick panel on the car when we drive through it.

Only one car can drive down the street as you can't pass oncoming cars.

You can't walk on the nature strip in some parts because the water is so high up on the land you need to take your shoes of to walk through it (now that's not a good thing when you're on your way to catch the bus on Ocean Beach Rd).

Back in January it rained that much that when I drove my little car though the flooded road the water got into the gearbox and damaged the clutch which cost me over $400 to fix.

There are so many kids in this street that the younger children if they fell, it would be deep enough that they could drown.

When the water does subside, the only place to walk is in the centre of the road.

When a car comes along the only place to walk is in the puddles.

Some of the potholes are so big that at night or early morning if you don't see them you could twist or break an ankle or fall and hurt yourself.

When the road is free from water you still can't walk on the side of the road because it is so uneven and dangerous and when you walk in the middle of the road the potholes are there.

I could go on and on but all I got out of Gosford Council was stress, abuse and sworn at.

After the last lot of rain the road surface came apart worse than ever.

The road gang came along and threw more tar in the holes so now when the cars drive over it the tare come out and flies everywhere.

Cars that are parked on the side of the road get damaged by the tar when cars flick the it out from there tyres as they drive past.

If I refuse to pay $85.52 for drainage in my rates the Council would have a lot to say about this matter so maybe we should send all our repair bills to Council then maybe something will get done about this drainage and road problem.

Online submission, 8 Aug 2012

David Johnson, Woy Woy