A targeted review of Council’s Road Management Plan (RMP) is required as a result of significant material and resource challenges within the construction industry. Council is experiencing significant disruption to its regular maintenance activities and is seeking to update sections of the Road Management Plan earlier than scheduled. The changes proposed will allow Council to repair damaged assets more efficiently without compromising safety.

New inclusions to the policy will allow us to undertake a range of rectification actions to repair footpath defects and kerb and channel defects. Further minor changes are also proposed as enhancements to Council’s existing Road Management Plan.

Council will seek the views of the community on the proposed changes. It is important to note, however, that this is not a review of Council’s Road Management Plan in its entirety. Community engagement on Council’s Road Management Plan was undertaken in May 2021, with a further review scheduled for 2025.

Council's Road Management Plan outlines the system for making sure our local roads, kerbs, footpaths and bridges are safe and in good condition. The Bayside Road Management Plan must be reviewed every four years as required under the Road Management Act 2004.

A target review is being undertaken to include a number of small changes to the current Road Management Plan.

The primary change to the RMP will allow us to use a range of treatment options including grinding repairing or replacing faults to fix defects in concrete pathways and kerb and channels, whereas currently the entire panel/segment is fully reconstructed.

Other changes proposed include:

• Increasing the width of footpaths (where possible) to achieve minimum compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• extending the laneway condition assessment frequency in Appendix 2 from ‘once every 4 years’ to ‘once every 6 years’.

Two minor editorial changes have also been made, in Appendix 2, ‘Bridges’ is changed to ‘Bridges – level 1 and level 2 inspections on the entire bridge asset’ and in Appendix 3, ‘Bridges and Culverts’ condition assessment has been removed as it is adequately covered in Appendix 2.

There will be no change to Council’s maintenance standards, or the maximum time Council has to respond to a customer request (although an improvement is expected).

If the draft Road Management Plan is not adopted, Council will continue to follow the existing Road Management Plan.

We are seeking community feedback on the proposed targeted changes to the Road Management Plan, particularly in regard to the inclusion of new treatment options for repairing defects in concrete pathways and kerb and channels.

What can the community influence?

• The targeted areas of the Road Management Plan under review

What can’t the community influence?

• The broader Road Management Plan – this is not a review of the Road Management in their entirety.
• increasing the width of footpaths (where possible) to achieve minimum compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

Impact: What level of change the stakeholder / community segment may experience as a result of the project / matter

Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated

Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum

Stakeholder / community	Impact	Interest	Influence
Residents with a particular interest in road management/ previous RMP contributors	M	L	Consult
Individuals with broad interests in the business and decisions of Council	L	L	Consult
General Bayside Community	L	L	Consult

The tools and techniques selected for this project are informed by the project content, stakeholders and type of feedback sought. The impact of COVID-19 restricts our ability for face-to-face communication, as well as slower distribution of printed mail.

Key tools for communicating the project

• Email notification to Have Your Say members
• Council's website and e-newsletter This Week in Bayside
• Social media
• Direct email and/or addressed mail to key stakeholder groups
• Government Gazette

Key methods for gathering feedback

• Online engagement through Have Your Say, including opportunity to ask questions, as well as provide feedback
• Phone, post and email correspondence
• Printed survey and consultation materials available on request.

Key Dates: For this phase
Item title	Start date (& time if relevant)	End date (& time if relevant)	Description (if required)
Community consultation	29 June 2023	1 August 2023
Consideration of community feedback	August 2023		A Community Engagement Summary report will be prepared.
Council considers revised Road Management Plan for adoption	August 2023		August 2023 Council is expected to consider community feedback and the proposed amendment to the Road Management Plan at its August meeting.

Community and stakeholder consultation on the revised Road Management Plan will be held for a four-week period from Thursday 29 June 2023 – Tuesday 1 August 2023.

Community feedback will be collated and presented to Council for their consideration and amendments will be made to the draft Road Management Plan, as required.

It is expected that a report on community feedback and the revised Road Management Plan will be considered for adoption by Council at its ordinary meeting in August 2023.

The agenda for this meeting, including the community engagement report and Council Officer's recommendation in relation to the Road Management Plan, will be published on Council's website on the Wednesday prior to the Council meeting. Project subscribers will be notified when the report is available.

All Council meetings are live-streamed via Council’s website. Community members can also ask a question or request to be heard at this meeting.

More information

If you would like more information, please contact Bruce Robertson, Senior Asset Engineer, 9599 4391 or brobertson@bayside.vic.gov.au.