Council has no balls

By Emma Sun
Signs were put up by the council last Wednesday in a bid to ensure the area is safer for children and motorists.
But the move has outraged residents, who said the move was unnecessary and would only cause a hassle for children and parents.
Scott Nicholls, who has three children, said all the local children loved playing on the grass and found it silly that he couldn’t have a kick of a football with his three-year-old son.
“It’s ridiculous, half the people in the street live here so they can use the reserve because we all have kids,” he said.
“I quite often park my car there and they always knock on my door and ask courteously if I can move my car so they can play.
“I move it if I can and if I don’t, they don’t play there.
“My wife and I both park there and we haven’t got money to fork out for any damage so we’d be the first to jump out and tell them not to play if something were to happen.”
Mr Nicholls said he was very disappointed because now, more than 20 children of various ages had nowhere to play.
City of Casey’s acting manager parks and reserves Richard Rowland said the council chose to discourage ball sports following concerns from residents about children playing within close proximity of parked and moving vehicles.
“As the reserve is abutted by designated parking areas, council is concerned that a child retrieving a ball on the surrounding road may not see an oncoming car, and that children may not be visible to motorists.”
Mr Nicholls urged the council to reconsider its decision for the benefit of the children’s health.
“The kids need a place to play. The local government is spending all this money on trying to stop obesity and to get kids outside, and now they’re closing reserves down in front of our houses.
“What do they want them to do? Sit inside at their computers all the time? The backyards here are very small and that’s why the kids play games there.”