A resident in a wheelchair says she is forced to dangerously cross six lanes of heavy traffic on Dandenong-Frankston Road to access a shopping precinct in Dandenong South.
Former Greater Dandenong councillor, Sharon Harris says there is no footpath leading from the nearest signalised pedestrian crossing to the shops such as Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys.
The signalised intersection with a pedestrian crossing leads instead onto a nature strip that’s muddy and bumpy surface with a high kerb, which is not accessible for her.
To access a footpath, she is forced to cross the road without traffic lights, about 20 metres south of the signalised crossing.
“You can’t be scared of the traffic.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m being stopped going into shops in Dandenong because of this barrier.
“When Officeworks shifted here, it was really awful.”
Diagnosed with fibromyalgia a decade ago, she has been crossing the stretch of road ever since.
Businesses, staff and customers at the shopping precinct are also frustrated by the lack of footpaths forcing them to walk on the unbalanced muddy nature strip.
Café staff Helene Seng says she had a mother complaining of how difficult it was to push a pram on the bumpy, muddy grass.
She herself gets off the bus at the intersection but to avoid walking on the mud, she says she gets off one stop earlier despite the long walk.
“I try to avoid that route because of the high grass especially on rainy days, it’s very bothering.”
Muayad Ali has owned a kebab shop in the area for the past eight years. He says easier access to the general and wider community, not just those in vehicles, will provide more customers.
Meanwhile, Ms Harris has also been part of the council’s disability reference group to “work to change things”.
She claims many roads of Greater Dandenong are not suitable for people with mobility issues.
On a rainy day she wraps herself with a bright yellow raincoat so she can be easily spotted by drivers behind the wheel.
“A lot of people say, ‘you’ve got a taxi card, you get half price taxi.’
“Wait a minute, do you know how much my medicines cost me? They cost me over $100 sometimes.
“So, yes, it is half fair, but it’s still coming out of my wage that I try to be very frugal on and I don’t like wasting it.
“I use my taxi card for mainly emergencies.”
