By ALESHA CAPONE
BRIMBANK City Council will spend $75,000 across the next two years to remove graffiti from a Regional Rail Link noise barrier.
The noise barrier will be installed between Forrest St, in Ardeer, and Anderson Rd, near the Sunshine train station, to help mitigate sounds from the increased amount of trains travelling on the RRL.
Although the Regional Rail Link Authority will pay for the installation of the wall, Brimbank ratepayers will fund its ongoing maintenance and upkeep.
Residents have protested against the proposed noise walls since 2013 and said they would prefer other anti-noise measures.
At last week’s council meeting, Brimbank administrator Jane Nathan expressed anger at having to spend residents’ money on cleaning up graffiti across the municipality.
The council has extended its graffiti removal and inspection contract, after allocating more than $230,000 for the task across 2012/13.
The council will continue with the contract for another two years, bringing its total value to more than $1.6 million – much to Ms Nathan’s chagrin.
“I cannot contain myself, Mr Chairman, on the community’s money being spent on removing illegal graffiti,” she said last Tuesday.
“This is just a terrible waste of the community’s money.”
The chief administrator John Watson agreed with Ms Nathan and said the funds “could be better spent”.
The council runs legal street art projects with youths and removes graffiti from 30 priority sites across the municipality, with inspections carried out on a fortnightly and weekly basis.
To report graffiti, contact the council on 9249 4000.
