As a timely reminder to us all that the fire season is approaching, preparations for Council’s annual sealed roadside slashing program are underway. The program reduces the height of grass on roadsides to improve road safety, along with helping to reduce fuel loads.
Council’s Works Team slashes approximately 1,400 kilometres of sealed roadsides each year.
Evan King, CEO, said, “We can’t slash every road in every part of the Shire, but if you would like to highlight an area you believe needs slashing, we encourage you to log an online request or call our Customer Service team to log a request.”
Council works with agencies such as the CFA, DEWLP and Parks Victoria (through the Municipal Fire Prevention Committee) on how to best tackle sealed roadside slashing across our Shire. The slashing program commences in the first week of November and continues through to the end of December.
“We have 3 team members working 6 days per week until 22 December to get this program delivered. Our crews have enough resources to slash each area once per year, so it is critical to get the timing right,” said Mr King.
Slashing starts at the northern boundary of the Shire because curing starts first in the north. This helps to reduce the risk of regrowth as the grass is starting to die off.
In addition to road side slashing, Council conducts open-space fuel reduction slashing. Several large parcels of land are under its control are slashed once a year.
