By Shelby Brooks
Following a 91 per cent increase in pothole defects in recent months, Cardinia Shire Council will investigate its own response to deteriorating roads.
The staggering statistic was determined by looking at long-term averages for sealed roads in the shire during June, July and August, Councillor Kaye Cameron said at the September meeting.
Cr Cameron requested a report be made outlining the impact of recent weather patterns on the performance of the council’s roads.
The report will also look into what measures have been undertaken by the council to respond to the conditions and how it has impacted the timeliness of repair work.
Voting unanimously for Cr Cameron’s notice of motion, the council will also write to the Minister for Roads asking for action and a reduction in the delay in the completion of repairs to defects in the state-owned and managed arterial road network.
Cr Cameron said increased feedback from the community had sparked the need for a report.
“In the report that will come back to council, hopefully it will highlight that council has been responsive to the issue and that the Department of Transport (DOT) will give us some information on how they plan to manage their road system,” she said.
Councillor Stephanie Davies agreed with the need for a letter to the Minister for Roads Ben Carroll and hoped it would be received in good faith.
“I hear numerous concerns from residents and commuters about the roads within the shire, as I presume all councillors do,” she said.
“It was confirmed to us at a briefing today that potholes [on council roads] are assessed and completely repaired within four days.
“But we don’t have as much information about the arterial roads [DOT roads] as we don’t have the jurisdiction.
“Unfortunately, I’ve heard numerous escalations from residents, that their complaints on the arterial road network [DOT roads] aren’t being actioned. When this happens, I can only ask council staff to advocate on their behalf, which they do by the agreed channels. But it’s triple handling. It’s a huge problem for Cardinia’s residents and commuters.”
Councillor Jack Kowarzik pointed out more needed to be done to make the community aware that different roads fall under the different authority’s responsibility.
“Information surrounding which roads are a responsibility of the Department of Transport verses the council is important in this discussion and we need to do a better job of that,” he said.
“But the fact of the matter is people don’t necessarily care a great deal whose responsibility is what, they just want the condition of the roads they drive on to improve.”
He also defended the shire’s response to the poor condition of its roads over winter.
“Despite appearances, and despite what the community sentiment is, I think the report will come back in November and reflect positively on the actions of this council,” he said.
“Traffic officers and customer service are logging complaints already that fall under the maintenance responsibility of the DOT and passing them on so residents don’t have to ring up twice and waste more time on the phone.
“And also by procuring another truck to respond to potholes maintenance so now we have two crews doing that.”
Councillor Graeme Moore wanted to make clear the criticism wasn’t directed at the shire’s own staff.
“I know they do a fantastic job,” he said.
“But our community doesn’t see it that way. They get confused as to who owns and who is responsible for what road. That’s where the major problem comes from.
“I see some pretty bad DOT roads that only get patched and get worse and worse.”
