By Danielle Kutchel
Residents of Harkaway’s Chadwick Road are having their serenity shattered by inconsiderate 4WD “hoons”.
And now, residents have had enough.
They say the drivers, whom they label “hoons”, regularly speed down the usually quiet dirt road, destroying the environment and running down any animals in their path.
According to people who live on the road, dead animals are a regular sight along the road now – from moorhens to wallabies, wombats and deer.
The residents, who did not wish to be named, say there has been a spike in the traffic seen down the road recently.
The 4WDs head to the end of Chadwick Road, where the track crosses Cardinia Creek.
They’ve caused significant damage there, creating large ruts in the embankment and mowing down trees and shrubs planted by Landcare.
“It’s become the place to play,” one resident said.
They said police have been called – but by the time they arrived, the drivers were gone.
Around 25 years ago Landcare put up wooden bollards near the creek to block access, but the hoons have pulled these out of the ground.
Residents are calling for Casey Council, Melbourne Water – which manages the Cardinia Creek area – and Victoria Police to work together to find a solution.
Residents say that could involve cameras, better bollards down the road itself, or regular patrols of the area to deter dangerous drivers.
“They’re taking possession of the end of our road and making it theirs,” a resident said.
“It’s really insidious and quite a dangerous precedent.”
Melbourne Water manager of regional services south east, waterways and catchment operations, John Woodland, said the organisation was aware of the issue and was “actively working to stop the road being used in this damaging way”.
“In order to restrict access to the creek we have installed boulders and heavy duty gates at Chadwick Road to our nearby pipe track and have employed security guards to patrol the site after hours and during the day,” he said.
“We have also reported the issue to police.“
Victoria Police was contacted for comment.
Keri New, the City of Casey’s manager of city and asset planning said the council had received one enquiry relating to hooning on Chadwick Road, and that was in early 2021.
“Under Council’s Local Law it is an offence to use recreational vehicles on public land, such as Council’s reserves, without a permit,” she said.
“Any reported offences on Council land are investigated by our Compliance officers, and reports of hooning or dangerous behaviour are forwarded to Victoria Police.”
She encouraged residents to report the dangerous driving to Victoria Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
