ST. KILDA STREET CHANNELS.

Evening Star, Issue 19841, 14 April 1928, Page 5

ST. KILDA STREET CHANNELS.

TO THE EDITOR. .Sir, — I wish to draw the attention of the authorities to the existing state of street channels in our St. Kilda Borough, A walk through this ideal .suburb would reveal a disgusting spectacle in practically all its street channelling, which is certainly not a credit to any residential area in our modern times.” These channels are, in many instances, completely overgrown by grass,,encroaching from the growth on the sides of the streets. This is perhaps a blessing in disguise, as it covers the unsightly substance lying underneath in the channels. Others contain stagnant water, which cannot run away through a blockage of some nature, and with the mud and decayed matter lying therein means a foul bed for the germination of flies and disease. Some of this gutter accumulation is attributable to a careless and dirty method of this particular, council in dealing with the growth of grass on the sides of its streets. This grass at rare periods is cut by a mower, and the cut grass is left lying, to be thrown about by children and wind-blown until a proportion finds a last resting place in the channel, there to decay and rot. To overcome this it is surely not a difficult matter to have this cut grass raked together in small lots at street sides and burnt there and then, thus obviating any nuisance caused by it being left lying. In our modern times of town planning, etc.—more so of residential areas —special attention is paid to methods that lead to cleanliness; and cleanliness means health. I ask if there is not some authority above the St. Kilda Council —perhaps the Drainage Board or Health Department—with powers to see that cleanliness exists in our streets in the interest of the general welfare and health of our residents, and able to take our St. Kilda representatives to task for the dirty, untidy, and disgusting street channels. I. trust the St. Kilda Council will in itself have this matter attended to without delay, and make it a _routine of its duty to keep at all times its street channels clean and respectable, befitting ibis fair borough, and not as at present, attended to every two or three years.—l am', etc., April 11. Resident.