Cleaning and breaking

The following photos were taken around the Ryde area.  The first shows a cleanup crew in action along the river - this group were organised enough to have a rowboat that they used to collect rubbish from the water.  There were at least a dozen blokes walking along the river banks with large sacks, picking up rubbish as they went.  I passed piles of sacks that they had filled and stacked up awaiting collection.

A well organised bus, fitted out with all the tools required to clean up an area.  We could do with this visiting a few areas around Canada Bay.

Two examples of vandalised signage in the same area - most of the signs setup along the path that follows the river had been broken in a manner similar to this.

Or this.  

Lots of people walk or ride past these signs every week.  Most would notice that they've been maliciously damaged, and I suspect that most would also believe that the local council would magically find out about the damage via a mythical "eye in the sky", or something to that effect.  As far as I am concerned, the only way the council is going to find out about this sort of thing is if somebody tells them.

Ryde responds

Recently, I blogged about the mess in Tindarra Park in Ryde, and how I had emailed a Councillor about it, and received a response a day or two later.

I got a phone call on Thursday from a Ryde manager who called to say he would have a contractor in the park next week and would get the place cleaned up.  Any signage that can't be cleaned will be replaced.  

See?  It's easy.  One email, problem solved.

Councillors back at work

I emailed a Ryde councillor on New Year's Eve regarding the mess in Tindarra Park.  I got a response back on Saturday, saying they've referred it to council management for action.

I'm not entirely sure what that means with Ryde Council.  With Canada Bay, you can be 95% certain something will be done quickly.  However, I haven't got much experience with Ryde, so I don't know whether they will get onto it, or file it in the bin.

I'll go back in a month or two and have a look to see what happened.

Tindarra Park, Ryde

This post is an extension on my trip to the Epping Road cycleway.  Part of the ride took us through the parks of Ryde, including Tindarra Park.  As you can see from the first photo, it's a lovely spot.  There are a series of parks and paths which follow a creek for a few miles, which makes for an easy gradient.

As usual, someone has come along and vandalised just about every vertical surface in the park.  The path is quite narrow in places, and it winds through the trees (which restricts visibility), so Ryde Council has gone to the trouble of putting up signs that warn cyclists and pedestrians to take care (to not run into each other going around corners).  I went past a number of these signs before I finally found one that was legible, and was able to read the warning about the hazards that Council wanted me to know about.

Most of the bins have been vandalised, and some have had their lids ripped off (like this one), allowing rubbish to be scattered by birds and animals and the wind.

Some of the equipment in a playground along the route was also tagged.

Last time I reported vandalism to Ryde Council, I did it over the phone, and I'm not sure if I ever got a result.  This time, I am going to contact one of the Ryde Councillors in the Central Ward and see if I have more luck.

Kissing Point Wharf

These photos show the toilets at Kissing Point Wharf, in the Ryde Council area.  A bit of graffiti has been sprayed on the outside and inside of both toilets.

I used to find this kind of thing amusing when I was 12 years old, which is why I can understand it when studies say that most vandals are under 18.

Update - rang Ryde Council on 9952 8222 and reported it. Ref number 974643.  Have to say, Ryde employ some lovely people in their Customer Centre.

Vandalism in Ryde

Ryde Council has recently erected these excellent maps along their walking and cycling paths.  Pity some idiot has decided to deface them, making them almost impossible to read.

That's a shocking attempt at a cleanup.

More bus signage in Putney

This bus pole shows what I presume one should look like - the yellow bracket contains a timetable for this route.

Just around the corner, this one holds a blank bit of paper. Not very useful for customers not familiar with this route.

This one has nothing at all, although that might be vandalism related to all the poles that have been pushed over.

The question is: has any driver reported this so that it can be fixed?

Putney Park

Someone has been on a rampage down Pellisier St and through Putney Park, pushing over signs like the one below.

From here, you can see three signs either bent over or pushed out of the ground.

A rather suspiciously bent sign on the other side of this playground.

A plinth on its side.

There is a rather faded sign at the playground stating that this area is looked after by Enviro-Serve, but the phone number has been rubbed out. I was going to phone Council from this spot, but couldn't find a contact number anywhere.

Note the bush that has grown up to obscure a sign at the bottom of this plinth, as well as half-smothering some resucitation guidelines (in case a kid drowns in the pool at this spot). Not very smart.

Update - I rang Ryde Council this morning on 9952 8222 and reported this damage, along with the mess down at the wharf.  The reporting process was very quick and efficient.  I won't be back that way for a while, so I won't be posting any updates on getting it cleaned up.

Bus signage in Putney

Numerous signs have been pushed over along Pellesier Rd in Putney, including this Sydney Buses signage. If I didn't bother to report it, would a driver have reported it so that it could be fixed? Do drivers view anything that happens to property outside their bus as somebody else's problem?

Putney ferry wharf

This is the ferry wharf at the end of Pellisier Rd in Putney. Note the overflowing rubbish bin in the middle of the gates.

Most of the road down to the wharf is littered with rubbish - this photo really doesn't do it justice. You'd easily fill a garbage bag every 10 metres or so.

Someone has also flattened this sign next to the wharf - I doubt that is the effect of natural causes, as many more signs in this area have been pushed over.

Some of the rubbish in the grass next to the wharf. This spot is a real mess. I've seen tidier garbage dumps than around here.

Update - I've reported this to Ryde Council and asked them to clean it up.  

Australia Post - Ryde

Just so you know that not all the vandalised letterboxes are in the inner west.  Here is on in Ryde.