Council developed the Draft Road Management 2021 to keep local roads and footpaths well maintained and meet community needs for years to come.

In accordance with the Road Management Act, Darebin City Council amended its Road Management Plan after seeking community feedback. The formal submissions have now closed. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

The Road Management Plan was adopted by Council on Monday 25 October 2021 Council Meeting.

Project background:

Council has internally reviewed the current Road Management Plan to ensure the standards and priorities given to road inspections, maintenance and repair are efficient and appropriate for use by the Community. For more information, you can read the review of 2017 Road Management Plan report in the document section to the right of this page.

In summary, the internal review has proposed the following minor changes:

  • Administrative changes to make the Road Management Plan easier to read.
  • Inspection changes where officers will inspect bike lanes concurrently with other parts of the road assets.
  • The addition of emergency works being carried out within 36 hours (e.g. flooding).
  • Inspections including inspections for tree obstructions from private and Council owned trees being added to the plan.

Summary of the draft Road Management Plan 2021

The Road Management Plan outlines the principles, methods and systems used in managing Darebin’s road network.

The Plan:

  • Details the road management function under the control of Council.
  • Set the relevant standards of how Council carries out road management function.
  • Sets the standards based on policy and operation objectives within the resources available.
  • Ensures the provision of a safe and efficient road network for users and the community.
  • Minimises road safety hazards and disruption to traffic.

The Plan does not apply to arterial roads. Vicroads has the responsibility of these roads.

For more information, please email city.works@darebin.vic.gov.au or call 8470 8794.

If you would like to speak to someone in your preferred language, please contact us or call 8470 8470 to be connected to a Language Aide or an interpreter.

More information about the 23 sections of the Draft Road Management Plan 2021:

Sections 1-6

Provide an overview of the plan in relation to the Objectives Council sets out to achieve with plan and its purpose. Definitions of the terms used within the document are included as defined in the Road Management Act.

Section 7

Classifies Council road assets in a hierarchical system based on traffic volumes. Definitions are provided for each category that is referred to in the Plan.

Section 8

Outlines Council’s operational responsibility for public roads such as local and arterial roads, and public transport assets such as train, tram and bus stop assets. There is also information on vehicle crossings, drainage assets such as drains, pits and kerb and channel. Unmade roads, unmade Rights of Way (ROW), shared paths and car parks are also included in this section with Council’s responsibilities of these defined.

Section 9

Covers exceptional circumstances, detailing what occurs in the event of natural disasters or other instances beyond Council’s control.

Section 10

Explains the level of service that Council is capable of providing with consideration to available resources and the provision of other Council services.

Section 11

Elaborates on the proactive maintenance system in operation and outlines the provision of temporary and permanent repairs for defects found during inspections.

Section 12

Covers the reactive maintenance system in operation including customer service requests and data recording. A diagram of the process is provided to demonstrate the chain of events that occur for customer service requests.

Section 13

Outlines the repair of damaged Council assets and the associated expectations. The responsible parties for the damage and the expected level of repair are further explained.

Section 14

Considers risk assessment, regular inspections and consequences of asset failure. It refers to the Defect and Safety Inspection Manual for details of further analysis.

Section 15

Refers to the Road Geometry and Drainage Design Guidelines for the standards of the construction, expansion, upgrading, renewal and refurbishment of new roads and pathways.

Section 16

Outlines the standards of maintenance for existing roads and pathways with respect to the schedule of inspections, the priority to be given to intervention action and exceptional circumstances.

Section 17

Explains financial resources available to Council and the effect it has on the level of service that Council is capable of providing.

Sections 18-21

Covers safety at works sites and Council’s duty to inform the responsible service provider of any non-road infrastructure that appears to be unsafe or in need of repair. Performance management review of the plan are also included.

Section 22

Lists the references that are referred to or affect the operation of the plan. References include Acts, Regulations, Codes of Practice and Council Documents.

Section 23

Includes appendices:

  • Council’s inspection zones
  • Inspection frequencies
  • Maintenance standards including response times for roads, pathways and other road assets.