Described as the pride and joy of the neighbourhood when they were first planted, the bottlebrush trees had become a pedestrian hazard after being neglected for the past four years.
Resident Frank Ayrton says they were once beautiful, all flowering at the same time and never presenting a danger, but have deteriorated in the last few years.
“The contractors did a good job but it’s only the start,” he said.
“The trees need regular maintenance and shaping so that they bloom at the same time and don’t look patchy and messy.
“I think it’s lucky that there hadn’t been any pedestrian mishaps and of course, they are still close to power lines which is a worry.”
When the council was contacted by the Torch last week, a spokesperson said: “Ausgrid is responsible for ensuring trees branches are pruned to a safe distance from power lines.
“Street trees alongside roads are on the council’s maintenance program, and involve pruning and lifting branches for pedestrian safety.
“In this case, we expect pruning on the pedestrian level to happen over the coming weeks.
“Following the recent storm, more than 800 reports for tree works have been made to the council causing delays on normal maintenance works.
“We are working through the backlog of maintenance work generated from the storm.”
