Council Minutes - 27 October 2009 - City of Greater Geelong

Greater Geelong City Council 27 October 2009
Minutes of Ordinary Meeting
SECTION B - REPORTS Page 43
8. REVIEW OF ROAD MANAGEMENT PLAN (CONT’D)
Report
Background
Key aspects of the Road Management Act 2004 are:
• it defines responsibilities for various roads and road related infrastructure between
the State, service authorities and local government,
• it sets out the roles and responsibilities for both road authorities and users,
• it provides for road authorities to exercise a duty of care to the community and a
policy defence mechanism to claims for negligence (non-feasance) through Road
Management Plans,
• it requires road authorities to have a Register of Public Roads listing all roads under
the authority’s control that “are reasonably required for general public use” and
creates a statutory duty to inspect, repair and maintain those roads to reasonable
standards,
• it enables road authorities to prepare Road Management Plans specifying
reasonable inspection frequencies, maintenance and repair standards and
response times as determined by the authority which if met will provide a degree of
protection against the new liability for nonfeasance,
Council approved the original Road Management Plan (Version 1.00) on 9 November
2004. The Plan was advertised in the local newspapers as well as the Government
Gazette as required under the legislation.
As required under the Road Management Act 2004, the Plan must be reviewed at
prescribed intervals.
Discussion
The purpose of the Road Management Plan is to establish a management system for
the public road functions that are Council’s responsibility in order to meet the needs of
the community. The management system is based on policy and operational
objectives and at the same time recognises resource limitations faced by Council in
inspecting, maintaining and repairing its road infrastructure. The levels of service and
performance standards specified in this plan, by necessity, provide a balance between
reasonable road safety and affordability.
The Road Management Plan was adopted by Council on 11 March 2008. RMA
regulations require that the plan be reviewed when a new Council is elected. The RMA
also requires that the plan be made available for public comment if that review
proposes a reduction to levels of service.
The Act details a statutory procedure for reviewing a Road Management Plan. This
involves giving notice in a daily newspaper and government gazette, considering
community submissions lodged within 28 days and publishing notices upon adoption of
the revised plan. Copies of Version 3.01 and Version 4.0 were put on public display for
28 days. No submissions have been made to the City.
General changes have been made to the Plan to reflect the operational arrangements
that were implemented during the past year. These changes included updates to
relevant documents and update of tables of asset quantities. The proposed changes
are minor in nature and are summarised as follows: