Ballarat resident Brian Pola dubbed the asphalted traffic islands, situated in front of a heritage-listed 1860s cottage in Armstrong Street South, as “unsightly”.

The council recently cut four holes into the asphalted islands to plant trees, but Mr Pola said it would have been “easier and less expensive” to completely remove the asphalt and grass the area entirely.

He brought the matter to the council chambers at last Wednesday’s council meeting and urged councillors to take immediate action to enhance the south end of the iconic street. 

His presentation to councillors was met with applause from other residents in the chamber.

“There is no reason why this area couldn’t have been grassed,” Mr Pola said. “It is uninviting and doesn’t add to the appeal of the residential heritage precinct and fails to meet the greenery and beautification aspirations of the city.”

Mr Pola said the Melbourne City Council was already leading the way in beautifying Melbourne’s CBD through methods including grassing traffic islands. 

Earlier this year, the Melbourne City Council converted a 500-square-metre asphalted traffic island into a park in Errol Street, in North Melbourne. 

Mr Pola said he could not see why a provincial and growing city like Ballarat could not take similar measures. 

“Just because we are a provincial city, doesn’t mean we need to live in the 1900s,” he said.

“We need to be progressively thinking.”

He said any argument that grassing the areas would require constant maintenance, including regular mowing, was unreasonable.

Mr Pola said the council had a responsibility to ensure the city was “green and aesthetically pleasing” to attract the tourism and economy it relied on.

He said particular care needed be taken to protect and enhance vegetation in heritage precincts. 

At the council meeting on Wednesday night, the city’s infrastructure general manager, Eric Braslis, said the council was committed to greening the city.

Mr Braslis said the council spent hundred of thousands dollars a year on beautifying and grassing median strips in Ballarat.

“Unfortunately this particular intersection, due to location of it and size of it, is in a spot where that isn’t appropriate, “ Mr Braslis said.

Councillor Samantha McIntosh said the issue highlighted the need for the council to review the city strategy to find ways in which Ballarat’s internationally known heritage streetscape could be protected and improved into the future.