Petition calls on council to remove ‘weed troughs’

Mosgiel residents are calling for planter boxes, installed as part of the Mosgiel-Taieri Safer School Streets project, to be removed. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON

But to Mosgiel residents, the concrete planter boxes filled with wild flowers on some of the town’s streets are "ugly" and "dangerous road weed troughs".

Now a petition calling on the council to get rid of them is gaining momentum.

Janine Tansley said she launched the petition last week after seeing a large number of negative comments about the troughs on social media.

Many have called them "eyesores" and a waste of money.

Signatories to the petition said they were unhappy council had installed the "road weed troughs" without full consultation with Mosgiel residents.

They also said the troughs created a dangerous, unsightly narrowing of roads.

"The street appearances of Mosgiel has decreased due to the installation of these troughs and the lack of planting maintenance by the DCC."

The troughs also reduced street parking in some residential areas of Mosgiel.

Ms Tansley said more than 1260 people had signed the petition, by yesterday afternoon.

"I think that’s a good number to send a message to the council that these need to be gone."

The planter boxes are part of the Mosgiel-Taieri Safer School Streets project — a collaboration between the Dunedin City Council, Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board and local schools.

It began last October and aimed to make it safer for pupils going to school in Mosgiel and Outram, after

concerns were raised by the community board, schools, parents and pupils about poor driver behaviour and a lack of safe crossings.

The project cost $150,000 — 90% of which came from the NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets for People Fund.

Dunedin City Council group manager Jeanine Benson said council was still deciding on adjustments to the trial road safety work but details would be released next week.