Geelong council has released the draft version of its Municipal Road Management Plan (RMP) for public viewing and consultation.
The draft document details the standards, policies and systems the CIty of Greater Geelong will use to manage, inspect, repair and maintain its more than $2 billion of roads and related infrastructure.
The public has already had some say in the management plan, with community workshops and subsequently a series of stakeholder engagement sessions held in December and January informing the development of the draft.
Councillor Trent Sullivan said roads were a “passionate” issue for the council group.
“One of the first things people will contact their local councillor about will be a pothole or something going on with their road, so it’s very close to our hearts,” Cr Sullivan said.
“Many members of the community were engaged, gave up their time to come up and be involved with this process, which is fantastic.
“(The plan) includes streets, rights of way, bridges, footpaths, bicycle paths and nature strips as well.
“We may sometimes think road (management is) straightforward; it’s not. Every stakeholder in every part of the community uses these roads, from the community to residents, businesses, how can they cope with tourist influx in the seasons down the coast and whatnot.”
Councillor Eddy Kontelj said while the council was “not perfect”, it did a “really good job in this area”.
“Our people get tainted unfairly, on many occasions, because of the condition of state government roads; we see that often,” Cr Kontelj said.
“There are a lot of state government and arterial roads in our municipality, even where you wouldn’t expect them. And quite often, it’s those roads that make us look poor or our people look poor.”
Councillor Emma Sinclair encouraged people to contact City officers with any concerns about their local roads.
“We’ve got a community where roads that have existed for decades now have a whole heap of traffic that they were never designed for,” Cr Sinclair said.
“I really want to acknowledge the community for their patience with the number of roadworks that we do have in the Armstrong Creek growth area… and really encourage the public, if they have issues, to reach out.”
Visit yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au/RMPR to view the draft and make a submission. Feedback closes August 22.
