Mayor’s green revolution nails its colour to the pole
MORE than a quarter of a million dollars have been spent painting silver street poles green since Clover Moore became the Lord Mayor of Sydney.
Council papers reveal that over the past three years, 5000 galvanised signposts, light poles and traffic signals have been given the forest green make-over, costing $260,500 - more than $50 a pole.
The Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard called the project “an outrageous waste of money”.
“The council could have used that money to initiate a program of grants to struggling rural councils or bringing people into the city for a holiday from the drought,” he said. “Here we are, the state’s art gallery can’t afford CCTV and we’re painting poles green.”
Cr Moore defended the paint jobs as part of a broader effort to beautify streetscapes, which began under the council’s former chief executive Peter Seamer.
“In June 2004 council unanimously adopted the recommendation of my Lord Mayoral Minute to improve the public domain by reducing signage clutter in the City of Sydney. New poles are now purchased powder coated, which is more durable and economical than painting on site,” she said.
The files information from smh.com.au