Log In

Reset Password

Overgrown grass on Parks land prompts complaint from Pembroke resident

Photo by Glenn TuckerGospel Lane resident Janet Maynard stands next to newly cut cane grass along Marsh Folly Road, Pembroke. The grass was cut by the Parks Department after she complained that it made pulling out onto Marsh Folly Road dangerous. Recent heavy rains after a dry spring and summer has seen a growth spurt in the Island's plant life.

A disgruntled resident has criticised Government for taking weeks to cut tall grass which she claims was a danger to motorists.Janet Maynard told The Royal Gazette the overgrowth on Gospel Lane in Pembroke prevented drivers from having a clear view when they turned onto Marsh Folly Road.“Every time I come out of my gate, I take a chance,” she said. “When you come down at any point in time you can’t see if anything has come up the hill.“The foliage is on [Department of] Parks land. They haven’t been out there for two months or more.”Ms Maynard told this newspaper about the problem yesterday and we contacted the Department of Parks, prompting a spokeswoman to promise a grass cutting that day.The spokeswoman said: “The grass on Gospel Lane will be cut today by Parks crew. Due to the heavy rainfall recently, the grass is growing much faster than it was at the start of the summer when it was quite dry — about an inch per day!”Ms Maynard said she’d made repeated calls to Parks to have the grass cut over the last fortnight to no avail.“If you look around the Island, everything is growing,” she said. “But we haven’t been having that much rain until recently.”Her comments follow a similar complaint made by pensioner Myrtle Durham about overgrown trees in Smith’s earlier this month.Ms Durham, an avid walker, told how the trees blocked visibility, making it impossible to see oncoming traffic approaching on St Mark’s Road.She contacted the media after getting nowhere with Government, she claimed, and Works Minister Trevor Moniz promised to get the job done.Late yesterday, after the grass had been cut, Ms Maynard said: “When you see the pictures of the cut grass LOL, it is a total mess. Guess they do not own a weed whacker and a rake, or they just do not care. Why do we pay Land Tax?”