RESIDENTS of St Andrews Beach say potholes on residential streets, including Constantine Ave, are causing costly vehicle damage and dangerous near misses, with the Mornington Peninsula Shire confirming there are currently no plans to resurface the roads or upgrade drainage.
Constantine Ave resident Shani Hillier has lived on the street for almost 10 years.
“It’s been an issue the whole time,” she said.
Hillier said she had punctured a tyre because of the road surface, and that a nearby tyre shop had told her punctures were an everyday occurrence, not just on her street.
She said a blind corner on Constantine Ave near her home was a particular concern, with drivers swerving to avoid potholes.
“There are kids on P-plates, and there are people coming to holiday here who have no idea. It’s to the point where it’s neglectful, and I would say dangerous,” said Hillier.
Rick Johnson, who moved to the area in 2022, said he and his wife had to drive carefully to avoid damaging their car, though they had not experienced any accidents or vehicle damage themselves.
Johnson, who has a background in civil engineering, said the underlying drainage system was contributing to the problem.
“Because of the way the drainage system doesn’t work here, you get these huge ponds forming,” said Johnson.
He believes fixing the roads properly would likely require kerbing and a new drainage system.
Johnson provided a copy of a Mornington Peninsula Shire council report from July 2019, detailing a previous proposal to upgrade the roads. The report shows the total estimated cost of constructing the roads and drainage system across St Andrews Beach was $10.1m.
Resident Jules Miles, who has lived in the area for about a year, said navigating the potholes added a hidden safety risk, forcing drivers to divide their attention between the road ahead and the surface beneath them.
“You’re having to look down a lot more, which is actually very dangerous, because you’re trying to focus on the traffic and other things around you, and you’re having to constantly check if there’s a pothole,” said Miles.
She said the lack of footpaths compounded the risk for pedestrians.
“If cars are having to veer off on a certain angle, there could be pedestrians walking, and there’s no footpaths around here,” she said.
Miles said she had lodged several reports through the council’s Snap Send Solve system, including one from 30 April and another from 24 May, that had not received a response.
“We actually saw them patching up some recently, and then there’s one outside our house that’s just growing daily,” she said.
Another St Andrews Beach resident, Rob Vanderzalm, said shire crews had resurfaced sections of several streets three or four months ago without notice, in some cases repairing only half a street.
“It was very random. There was no consult,” he said.
Vanderzalm said one of the worst-affected spots was on Tiberius Rd, where a large pool forms after rain.
“There’s a spot on Tiberius which floods so badly locals call it Lake Tiberius. We’re talking 10 metres by 10 metres in diameter,” he said.
The St Andrews Beach road network was built by a private developer in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with responsibility for the roads transferring to the shire following changes to the Road Management Act 2004.
The News put residents’ concerns to the Shire.
Director Assets and Infrastructure, Davey Smith, said, “While the roads were built by a private developer and do not meet current standards, the Shire continues to inspect and undertake limited maintenance in accordance with our road management plan.
“In 2018, Council proposed a special charge scheme to upgrade these roads, however that was not supported by affected property owners and did not proceed.”
He told The News the cost of the proposed scheme would have been split evenly – 50/50 – between the shire and affected property owners.
The shire said the roads are classified as substandard with limited pavement maintenance, meaning they receive proactive inspections every six months and a response to reported issues within 10 days. Constantine Ave was last inspected on 26 June.
It was confirmed there were currently no programmed works to comprehensively upgrade or resurface the road network, and no planned capital works to upgrade the area’s ageing drainage infrastructure.
Routine maintenance and localised repairs would continue to be carried out as required.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 July 2026
