Recent rains and hot days have set Council’s mowing crews a stiff challenge.
Council has received many calls recently about long grass in some of the City’s parks and reserves.
The wet weather creates the ideal conditions for grass to grow much more quickly than normal.
The wet ground makes grass grow quickly, but it also prevents Council from using the heavy tractors needed to mow the City’s 1250 hectares of open space and 116 sporting fields. Tractor mowers can cause enormous damage on wet grounds, which can be difficult and expensive to repair.
Council staff are now into catch up mode. Every rainy day knocks them off their mowing schedule.
Every possible effort is now being made to mow all open space areas, but the schedule does depend on the weather. Council has the resources and a strict schedule that in times of normal weather patterns ensures grassed areas remain well maintained. The crews are now working flat out to get that schedule back on track.
Well used active recreation areas such as sporting fields, which some 4,000 people use each week in summer, will take precedence over passive areas, such as reserves and roadside edges.