By Jessica Micallef
A Sunbury resident is calling on Hume council to make a bus stop more accessible for commuters.
Resident Brad Radclyffe, who is visually impaired, said he had no access to the Curtis Avenue bus stop near Harvard Court Reserve.
“We have to walk through trees and shrubs and on the main road to access it,” he said.
“I have a guide stick. If you have a walking frame, it’s nearly impossible to access the bus stop without walking on the main road itself.”
Mr Radclyffe said he had contacted Hume council many times and was disappointed in what he says is a lack of effort to upgrade the bus stop.
“Four months ago, Hume council said they haven’t set anything in the budget,” he said.
“They haven’t done anything in the slightest bit to make it safer.”
Mr Radclyffe catches the bus from the Curtis Avenue stop at least twice a week. He said he would like a two metre footpath installed to access the stop.
“There is no footpath,” he said. “I’ve fallen over many times and I’ve seen people fall over accessing the bus stop. It only needs a two metre footpath to be put in and they [the council] are not interested.
“It’s not a budget issue, it’s an OHS issue.”
Hume council’s sustainable infrastructure and services director Peter Waite said the bus stop was installed by Public Transport Victoria.
“When Curtis Avenue was developed, it was intended to have a semi-rural feel with grassed road verge and open swale drains instead of kerb and channel,” he said. “There is a footpath on the opposite side of Curtis Avenue to where the bus stop is. Pedestrians wanting to access the bus stop are encouraged to use the footpath rather than walk along the nature strip.”
