Warmer temperatures combined with increased rainfall create the ideal conditions for rapid grass growth in our local parks and reserves across Hume City - approximately 20,000,000 square meters of grass!
During spring, residents may notice grass and weeds in some parks, reserves, open spaces and along shared pathways appearing slightly longer than usual.
While growth rates increase significantly during spring, all areas will continue to be maintained in accordance with Council's mowing schedules, with 95% of sites serviced on either a 10 or 20 business day cycle depending on the level of service classification.
In preparation for this busy period, our Turf Management team has been working throughout winter to review and refine our mowing program to ensure we continue delivering an efficient and effective service to the community.
This included commencing our spraying operations earlier than previous years, which has already helped our current mowing programs progress much quicker than last year. It also included implementing equipment that allows real-time reporting on mowing programs across the municipality to increase efficiency.
To help keep pace with seasonal growth, a range of mowing and maintenance equipment, including tractors, wide-area mowers, front-deck mowers and edging equipment, will be operating throughout the municipality during this period. Residents may also see Council staff and contractors working outside of normal operating hours, including weekends.
Our Turf Management team are working hard to make sure that our mowing operations are the best they can be, so thank you for your patience while our crews tackle this huge task and balance regular maintenance.
If residents have concerns regarding the maintenance of a local park, reserve, open space area or walking trail, we encourage you to lodge a service request, so our team can investigate and provide further information.
Council may not always have the authority to address concerns for long grass along certain roadways, for example major roads are sometimes managed by the Department of Transport and Planning or other areas of private or non-Council owned assets/lands.
Council also may not always have the authority to address concerns regarding the maintenance around waterways and water bodies, for example maintenance around creeks, wetlands and other waterway areas fall under the management of Melbourne Water or another external authority.
To ensure your service request is directed to the appropriate authority we encourage you to use the Snap Send Solve app. Council will review the request and, where necessary ensure it is referred to the appropriate managing authority for action.
