Road Management Plan Review Report – June 2021
Asset & Property Services Department
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ROAD MANAGEMENT
PLAN
REVIEW
June 2021
Road Management Plan Review Report – June 2021
Asset & Property Services Department
Page 2 of 4
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Council, as a road authority under the Road Management Act 2004 (the Act), is
permitted to have a Road Management Plan (RMP). The RMP sets out Council’s
obligations, as the Responsible Authority, to inspect, maintain, and repair public roads.
The purpose of the RMP is to set out a clear management system for inspection and
maintenance of the road and footpath network in the City of Brimbank.
Under the Road Management (General) Regulations 2016 Council must conduct a Review
of its Road Management Plan during the same period as it is preparing its Council Plan.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that the standards in relation to, and the
priorities to be given to, the inspection, maintenance and repair of the roads and classes
of road to which the Road Management Plan applies are appropriate.
2.0 RMP AUDIT REVIEW (June 2019)
Council’s 2019 RMP, adopted by Council in June 2019, included several significant
service level improvements. These include:
2.1 Responsibility for Footpath over Vehicle Crossover
A vehicle crossover provides vehicular access to private property from the traffic lane to
the property boundary. The crossover may consist of a concrete driveway and layback in
the kerb and channel. Abutting landowners were previously responsible for the
construction and ongoing maintenance of the vehicle crossover.
In a benchmarking exercise with other councils, this definition of the vehicle crossover
was found to be no longer in line with community expectations. Accordingly, in July
2019, Council assumed responsibility for inspecting, repairing, and maintaining the
footpath portion of the vehicle crossover.
2.2 Trip Hazards
Trip hazards are instances where a break in the footpath sometimes causes the bay
levels in the footpath to separate, and through movements in the ground, cause one bay
of the footpath to elevate to a higher level that the adjoining bay. This level differential
can sometimes create a 'trip hazard’ of considerable size thus posing a potential risk to
pedestrians and cyclists.
In a benchmarking exercise with other councils, this differential level in the footpath was
found to be no longer in line with community expectations. As a result, the ‘trip hazard’
threshold was reduced from 50mm to 25mm, for footpaths located in activity centres,
parks, multi-nodal transport hubs, and in health precincts.
Road Management Plan Review Report – June 2021
Asset & Property Services Department
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2.3 Footpath Hierarchy
Council had adopted a four (4) level Footpath Hierarchy. The purpose of having a
Footpath Hierarchy is to classify Council’s extensive footpath network into areas of
pedestrian volume to manage risk. Council’s footpath network considers several factors
such as pedestrian activity, land use, proximity to activity centres, and to some extent,
the hierarchy of the adjoining road when determining its Footpath Hierarchy level.
When applying the four (4) level Footpath Hierarchy to Council’s existing footpath
network, closer inspection of the definition between Critical Activity and High Activity,
Council Officers have found it difficult to find any material difference between these two
(2) classes of footpaths based on their functional characteristics.
In addition to this, the Hazard Response Frequency of footpaths between Critical Activity
and High Activity, are both set to six (6) month inspection intervals.
The Footpath Hierarchy has now been rationalised from a four (4) level hierarchy to a
three (3) level hierarchy.
2.4 Road Hierarchy
Council had adopted a four (4) level Road Hierarchy. The Road Hierarchy considers
several factors such as traffic volumes, speed limit, lane width, and carriage
configuration when determining its Road Hierarchy level.
When applying the four (4) level Road Hierarchy to Council’s existing road network, a
1.6km section of Taylors Road, west of Kings Road in Kings Park, is the only section of
road classed as a Sub-arterial Road Class 1 across all of Council’s extensive road
network.
Upon closer inspection of the definition between Sub-arterial Road Class 1 and Sub
arterial Road Class 2, and through the regular inspections over the past 12 months,
Council Officers have found it difficult to find any material difference between these two
(2) classes of roads based on their overall functional characteristics.
The Road Hierarchy has now been rationalised from a four (4) level hierarchy to a three
(3) level hierarchy.
2.5 Hazard Response Times
Council Officers undertaking inspections as part of the RMP, are required to respond to
specific hazards such as road pavement deformations, damaged pit lids, damaged road
signs, line markings, safety barriers, bridges, and traffic signals to name a few.
The Hazard Response Times for each type of hazard are based on a four (4) level Road
Hierarchy. This response time considers several factors such as available resources, the
level of risk for each type of hazard, and the Road Hierarchy.
Road Management Plan Review Report – June 2021
Asset & Property Services Department
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In changing the Road Hierarchy from four (4) levels to three (3) levels, The City of
Brimbank will continue to apply the same principles of directing its available resources
based on the level of risk for each type of hazard under the Road Hierarchy. As a result,
several response times have been increased, and some response times have been
reduced.
3.0 RMP AUDIT REVIEW (DRAFT 2021 RMP)
Since July 2019, Council officers have been monitoring the performance of the 2019 RMP
against the stated service standards on an ongoing basis to ensure continued
compliance.
In preparing the Draft 2021 RMP, Council officers have also conducted a further review
of the 2019 RMP, and the review has not identified any further substantiative changes
that are required at this stage. However, some minor administrative changes to the
Draft 2021 RMP have been made.
4.0 CONSULTATION (DRAFT 2021 RMP)
Notices were placed in the Victorian Government Gazette, The Age newspaper, The Star
Weekly newspaper, giving notice of the proposed amendments to the 2019 RMP.
Printed copies of the Draft 2021 RMP, and the 2019 RMP were made available for
inspection at the Brimbank Community and Civic Centre.
A copy of the Draft 2021 RMP was also made available on Council’s website, together
with a ‘Have Your Say’ campaign conducted through Council’s social media channels and
website.
Seven (7) submissions were received during community consultation period. The
feedback and ideas received were considered and responded to accordingly.
5.0 CONCLUSIONS
The response and intervention standards in the DRAFT 2021 RMP, like the 2019 RMP,
continues to be in line with VicRoads standards, and like other councils. As a result, the
DRAFT 2021 RMP proposes to preserve the existing response and intervention levels
outlined in the 2019 RMP.
At the Ordinary Council Meeting on 15 June 2021, Council adopted the Draft Road
Management Plan.
The new 2021 RMP takes effect as of 1 July 2021.
