MILDURA’S key entry points from Melbourne and Adelaide have been labelled “absolutely terrible” amid calls to create a better first impression for visitors to the city.
Council infrastructure and assets portfolio councillor Glenn Milne said he was “really shocked” on his return from a 10-day trip to north Queensland to compare the two regions.
“Green roadsides all mowed, not a piece of rubbish anywhere and everything was absolutely stunning,” Cr Milne said.
“I came home to see the centre of the road all ripped up with bits of hose sticking up everywhere, dead grass or long grass and it was kind of a bit of a shock after a week of seeing really nice approaches to towns,” he said.
“We’ve got a beautiful city, but it really is a sad look – I just felt a bit sick and I’m saying that seriously – it just really shocked me.”
Cr Milne said the Mildura township had almost grown as far south to Seventeenth Street and Deakin Avenue and that should be treated the same as the rest of the thoroughfare.
“Deakin Avenue is a beautiful boulevard, but you have to get to Fifteenth Street before it is beautiful,” he said.
“We need to get to a point that our town just looks magnificent any way from where you come in.
“We have got a great town and people need to feel like we think it’s a great town when they drive in.
“It’s just about whether we’re proud of our town or not – that’s what it boils down to.”
Cr Milne said the New South Wales point of entry into Mildura was an example of what could be done.
“Coming in from Buronga it’s really, really nice – you look left and right and it’s neat and tidy, there is a beautiful garden in the roundabout and it looks loved,” he said.
“Those first impressions are really important and it doesn’t have to be an expensive entrance, but it really does need to be neat and tidy and we need to think about how we can do that better.
“We just really need a nice entrance to our town.”
