UNSIGHTLY weeds are giving the wrong impression of Bathurst to tourists, councillor Alex Christian says.
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City presentation, with regards to weeds, has been a concern of Cr Christian's for years and he has been vocal about it since being elected to Bathurst Regional Council in 2017.
While weeds are an issue in many parts of Bathurst, he is particularly concerned about the ones on arterial roads including Sydney Road, Durham Street and Stewart Street.
"It's just not good enough. People drive along these main roads and this might be the only picture they see of this city," Cr Christian said.
"It is just unkempt and messy."
Currently, council sprays and removes weeds from roadsides on a quarterly basis, with the last spray done on Sydney Road in August.
Cr Christian said he wants to see that schedule changed to tidy up those busy roads before hoards of people arrive for the Bathurst 1000.
"We've just had the Bathurst 1000, which is the biggest event in this region, and we've had thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people coming into Bathurst on this road," he said, referring to Sydney Road.
"I want a schedule change because I think these weeds need to be sprayed or removed two weeks before the race.
"It just says so much about a city; you're entering in on a main road and it doesn't look nice."
He feels it is particularly important that council get the weeds under control along Sydney Road given the tourism projects planned for that area.
These include more footpaths in the vicinity of the visitor information centre and the new entrance statement that is in the planning stages for Bathurst.
The latter will be situated near the Evans Bridge and is expected to be a place where tourists stop, stretch their legs and learn more about Bathurst in the process.
Cr Christian has already had conversations with council's engineering department and is hopeful they will investigate and agree to a schedule change.
He said that weed control wasn't a very expensive exercise or particularly difficult, it was just a matter of having the staff there at the right time of year.