OAK FLATS NSW ROUNDABOUT
Large roundabouts are a consistent hassle for council maintenance teams to manage. With any plants or grass, there is regular upkeep required for the space to be presentable as well as keeping them safe for the community and traffic.
Shellharbour City Council was looking for alternative options for reducing the maintenance requirements of an existing high-traffic roundabout in the town of Oak Flats. The roundabout is centred right next to the local train station, the police station, and numerous businesses, so it is an important part of the community’s infrastructure.
The roundabout previously had garden beds that required regular site visits for maintenance, around 10 times a year. When works were undertaken it required four traffic controllers at $200 per hour to manage the logistics of undertaking the maintenance while continuing traffic flow. Closing off the streets and diversions or detours were simply not an option due to the importance of the roundabout for nearby services.
Turf Selection
Council maintenance employees were invited to an open day at local turf business Turfco where they were educated on the different grass varieties available, and the research and development that goes into their release by Lawn Solutions Australia. It was during this open day that Council representatives were introduced to a relatively new grass variety called Sir Grange Zoysia.
After learning about Sir Grange Zoysia with its low input requirements and the benefits of being able to leave the grass left un- mowed, Council decided it was the solution they had been looking for.
The Project
This initiated a new design and project plan to upgrade the roundabout. Community consultation as to the appearance of the roundabout was also an important factor. The roundabout is a very prominent one with locals travelling past it in many cases several times a day. So, it needed to be more than ‘just another roundabout’ and needed to reflect the environment and the community it represents. Locals were keen to see something green that didn’t involve simply concreting it over.
After much consultation, the concept was for the roundabout to become a living art piece, with pencil pines a reference to an avenue nearby and the grass mounds to the coastal headlands.
The roundabout has now been solid turfed with Sir Grange Zoysia supplied by Turfco and the result is outstanding. Council installed underground irrigation to ensure the grass was able to be watered without the need for traffic control to do so, with a sand base installed to ensure the specific preparation requirements of the grass were provided to ensure its success.
The Result
Since installation, Council has only needed to undertake six hours of maintenance over approximately 15 months, with no traffic control measures required. With this time being spent primarily just picking up rubbish that has blown in as Sir Grange has not required mowing, not once. Fortunately, with Sir Grange, any rubbish and debris tend to sit on top of the grass without getting buried, making the clean-up process easy.
Council is extremely happy with the result. They no longer need traffic control at the roundabout when maintenance is carried out. Council is so impressed with how Sir Grange is going they are looking at another two roundabouts in Oak Flats, along with other areas with similar conditions.
“With reduced risk and maintenance costs, what’s not to like!”
Council has received incredibly positive feedback from the local community since completion, with many locals commenting on how cool it looks and requesting that more roundabouts in the area be completed with Sir Grange as well.
