Introduction

Council is updating its Road Management Plan 2021-2025 and is proposing a suite of changes to optimise community safety in line with industry best practice. The revised Draft Road Management Plan 2025-2029 (draft Plan) provides a framework for Council to manage minor defects (e.g. tripping hazards and potholes) in relation to roads, footpaths and related assets by:

• Outlining proactive inspection timeframes.
• Defining intervention levels (when a defect or fault needs to be fixed)
• Specifying defect repair timeframes.

Proposed service enhancements

Council is proposing the following service level enhancements in the draft Plan to optimise community safety:

• Over 75 per cent of footpaths in Moonee Valley will be inspected more regularly.
  
• In high foot traffic areas, where there is no nature strip (visual break), Kerbs and Channels (gutters) will be inspected more regularly.
• When a defect is deemed a safety risk, as per the intervention levels specified in the draft Plan, Council will repair it sooner.

Proposed efficiencies

To deliver the proposed service level enhancements and optimise community safety within budget, Council has investigated efficiencies across all of its Road Management Plan service levels. The draft Plan proposes increasing the defect intervention levels for the following footpath defects by half a centimetre (5 millimetres), in line with industry best practice:

• vertical displacement (a 'step' or 'lip')
• pothole depth
• cracks

While this is a slight reduction in the level service for these intervention levels, in addition to enabling the above service level enhancements overall, the proposed defect intervention levels would provide an equivalent or higher level of service when compared with neighbouring councils in the inner northwest and other councils similar to Moonee Valley.

Community consultation

From 27 August - 24 September 2025 Council consulted with community about the proposed changes. This consultation has now closed while Council considers feedback received. Thank you to everyone who took the time to have their say.