Tripping hazard reported on Pental Island track

SAFETY is a top priority for Manangatang resident Christine Plant.

Through Swan Hill Rural City Council’s proposed annual budget public consultation, Ms Plant requested the council allocate funds to repair and upgrade a walking track between Pental Island Road and Bryan Lane in Pental Island.

“There’s tree roots sort of sticking up,” Ms Plant said via video at the council’s recent meeting.

“Some of them are four to five centimetres and they’re a real tripping hazard.

“That’s my concern there, that someone is going to trip and fall and break a leg or a hip or something.”

She first notified the council of the issue last September.

In a report by SHRCC director of corporate services Joel Lieschke, tabled at an unscheduled meeting a week later, on June 8, he said $20,000 of funding was available through the Riverfront Connection grant for remedial work.

Mr Lieschke said the short-term solution would be for works using handheld tools following a tender process, followed by a long-term solution which would require research into the cultural signifance of the land.

He said this would be further explored.