Outside Andrea Edwards’ well-maintained home is a strip of council-owned grass verge with grass slowly growing to the height of her mailbox.
The overgrown pasture of green grass was an "embarrassment to her" and left her feeling like she was letting the whole street down.
"The grass seems to just be getting longer and longer by the day - obviously."
In the past, a company contracted to the council to mow the grass verges would come out every few weeks.
When Ms Edwards called to find out when they would come to mow the verge, she was told "in about two weeks" every few weeks.
"I’m always happy to see the mowers come, but for some strange reason they seem to have missed me, or are delaying coming.
"Every time I ask or follow up, the date they say they will come out seems to get further and further away."
When Ms Edwards bought the land, she offered to buy the strip of grass and maintain it - a request that was denied.
She said as she understood it, the grass verges owned by the council in St Clair were serviced and she was thankful she lived in an area that was.
"I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I’m weary - I would do it myself if I could but, as it is, I can’t."
The grass verge was steep, making it difficult to mow, and she did not have the proper equipment to do so.
Many of her neighbours mowed the council verges themselves and she was worried she was bringing the value of their homes down.
"I suppose I could pay someone else to do it, but why should I? It is council land and my rates have gone up."
A Dunedin City Council spokesman said grass-growing rates were regularly monitored by staff and contractors.
"We aim to maintain grass areas, prioritising the safety of road users and pedestrians.
"Our contractors assess the risk of vegetation becoming a safety hazard and, if necessary, these areas will be cut ... [if they are] obscuring traffic sightlines," he said.
Maintenance tasks previously carried out for aesthetic or cosmetic reasons were not a priority and safety and reliability was now the most important consideration.
The grass verge in Cliffs Rd near where Ms Edwards lived was assessed by the council as not allowing a lawn mower to cut the grass and should be maintained every 8-10 weeks by the council, the spokesman said.
"Reducing our cosmetic vegetation maintenance programme allows us to offset increasing costs and focus our spend on providing a safe transport network.
"We acknowledge that some residents are unhappy with the appearance of the grass verges and berms. However, our main concern is maintaining the safety of our staff, contractors and community."
