THE City of Whittlesea has launched an offensive on the lack of road safety in the area, including hazards and environmental impacts.
A recent audit of State-managed roads identified more than 1300 maintenance defects, including potholes, damaged guard rails, deteriorating road surfaces, obscured signage and overgrown vegetation.
Council is particularly concerned that some road safety defects have remained unresolved for more than two years despite being reported to the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), reinforcing the urgent need for action before these hazards contribute to serious incidents.
Frustrated residents, who may not be aware of who is responsible for managing different areas of the municipality, report potholes that need to be repaired, roadsides that need to be maintained and damaged road safety infrastructure that needs to be fixed. However, Council is unable to address any of these issues on DTP-managed roads and continues to wait for DTP to take action.
These road safety hazards, in particular damaged guard rails, trees and vegetation growing over and in front of safety barriers, continue to pose risks to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Council has acknowledged that DTP have recently announced a blitz on road maintenance prioritising the City of Whittlesea. Council said they were looking forward to seeing the results of this blitz and will continue advocating strongly for improved maintenance standards and timely repairs on State-managed roads.
City of Whittlesea Mayor Councillor Lawrie Cox, on the matter, said residents are frustrated.
“Enough is enough. Our community deserves better,” he said.
“We receive countless emails from residents concerned about road conditions and safety hazards that fall under DTP’s responsibility.
“It is irresponsible that essential road safety infrastructure remains damaged long after it has been reported.
“More work needs to be done to ensure safety on our roads and for our community, and the message is clear – just fix it.”
The City of Whittlesea’s offensive continued with a call to address illegal dumping on DTP-managed land.
Council’s report into the condition of DTP-managed arterial roads highlighted not only road safety concerns, but also ongoing environmental issues including dumped rubbish, overgrown vegetation, dead animals and poorly maintained roadsides.
Residents regularly contact Council about these issues, despite many of the affected roads and roadsides being owned and managed by DTP.
Council say they are increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of rubbish being left on roadsides for extended periods, including pollution, harm to local wildlife, the spread of weeds and damage to the natural environment.
Council has also raised concerns regarding infrequent roadside mowing on major roads.
To help address the issue, Council resolved at its May meeting that the Mayor would write to the Minister for Local Government seeking an exemption for Council on the payment of the waste levy associated with dumped rubbish collected by Council from public land.
Council maintains that State Government agencies must take greater responsibility for maintaining their own assets rather than shifting costs onto ratepayers.
Cr Cox said he had great concerns about grass management.
“Our community deserves better environmental outcomes and cleaner roadsides,” he said.
“Residents rightly expect clean and well-maintained public spaces, regardless of which level of government is responsible.
“It is outrageous that grass on some major roads is mowed only once or twice a year, particularly when residents are required to maintain their own properties to a much higher standard.
“Our community should not be left with the impression that Council is allowing these conditions to persist when responsibility for many of these roadsides rests with DTP.
“Council cannot simply absorb the responsibility for maintaining State Government assets. That would place an unfair burden on our ratepayers.
“Our residents already contribute through taxes that fund State Government responsibilities. DTP must step up because our community deserves better.”