Residents and business owners on one of Australia’s most iconic streets have had enough of hoons thrashing their cars, brawling and even defecating in public.
Locals claim Melbourne‘s Chapel Street has become a playground-of-sorts for reckless and ‘drug-affected’ people behaving in an anti-social manner.
A series of videos have appeared on social media showing modified cars doing burn-outs down the famous strip at night-time.
Other videos show visitors fighting with brawls spilling onto the road while some relieve themselves of their bodily fluids in front of residents.
A young woman who works in an Italian restaurant on the famous strip told Daily Mail Australia she saw a car driven recklessly by a young man almost cause an accident on Saturday evening.
‘Yesterday outside our restaurant one nearly crashed because they’re driving so fast,’ Smriti, who works in La Lucciola Bistro at South Yarra, said.
Residents and business owners who live and work around one of Australia’s most iconic streets have had enough of hoons thrashing their cars, fighting and even defecating in public
Locals are set to lodge formal complaints with the Victorian Ombudsman against Stonnington Council about impacts on them
One restaurant worker who spoke to Daily Mail Australia said ‘scary’ hoon drivers ignore the fact that so many pedestrians use Chapel Street
‘Last night the driver sped past so fast he nearly hit a bicyclist.
‘We were in the car in traffic lights, waiting on the green light and a young guy sped past us on the red light.
‘It was hard to tell exactly what was going on because it happened fast, but he was pretty young. It was like a movie.’
She said the alarmed passengers commented the scene was like being trapped in a scene from the Fast and the Furious.
Smriti, who has worked in the restaurant for two years, claimed the atmosphere has become far more ‘dangerous’ this year, even worsening in April and May 2023.
‘It does feel really dangerous lately, it feels like something could go wrong at any moment,’ Smriti said.
‘It’s scary. This is a public area with a lot of people walking past too.’
Locals are set to lodge formal complaints with the Victorian Ombudsman against Stonnington Council, Herald Sun reported.
The concerned locals believe the money repeatedly spent on repairing damage and cleaning up in Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor is a waste of ratepayers’ money.
A young woman who works at La Lucciola restaurant on the famous strip saw a car driven recklessly by a young man almost cause an accident on Saturday evening
A series of videos have appeared on social media showing modified cars, driven by young men, doing burn-outs and down the famous strip at night-time
Locals claim ‘drug-affected’ young people are fighting, breaking glass and even defecating on Chapel Street and they’ve had enough. Pictured, two people brawl on the Chapel Street
On many occasions rubbish, including broken glass, was being left on the street.
Many incidents, including fights and dangerous driving, have become fodder for sharing on social media.
In one case a resident witnessed a man brandishing a machete on the street.
In another a driver ran into a tree outside Prahran High School on High Street, 200 metres from Chapel Street.
One woman who lives and co-owns a business at Prahran, feared someone will be ‘killed’ as a result of the unruly behaviour including ‘continual’ speeding by cars.
‘It’s just getting filthy and grotty, and becoming a real ghetto,’ Alexandra Petrovic-Defteros said.
She claimed to have witnessed ‘disgusting’ people defecating and urinating on homes and businesses near clubs and pubs.
Ms Petrovic-Defteros also claimed that the alleged use of illegal drugs and anti-social behaviour on the strip is now ‘out of control’.
A local who asked not to be named claimed that the hoons were using residential back streets to race, sometimes as fast as 140 kilometres per hour.
So-called hoon driving by young men has become a problem around Chapel Street Melbourne and locals fear someone may die if it isn’t eliminated
Chapel Street is famous for high volumes of foot traffic from people visiting its restaurants and shops
He called on Victoria police to increase the number of police officers patrolling on foot.
A Victoria police spokesman said ‘maintaining community safety and public order along Chapel Street is a major priority’.
The police already have an ongoing operation targeting hoon driving, across Stonnington and Port Phillip.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Stonnington Council and the Chapel Street Precinct for comment.
