Kerbs in crisis, more than half need repairs

A BASS Coast audit of roadside kerbing has revealed more than half (58 per cent) of the municipality’s road kerbs are in poor or very poor condition.

A report presented to Bass Coast Council as part of a review of the Shire’s Road Asset Management Plan recommends long-term funding to provide sustainable road transport for the community.

A detailed condition audit utilising high-resolution digital imagery and laser scanning was followed by a four-week community engagement period which attracted twenty written submissions.

The report noted that council’s road network is not only the community’s primary transport mode but also provides critical stormwater drainage.

The independent contractor engaged to survey nearly one thousand kilometres of Bass Coast local roads used a high-speed automated survey vehicle fitted with twelve high-resolution cameras.

The audit found seventy-five per cent of sealed surfaces in the Shire were in good or very good condition along with nearly eighty per cent of unsealed roads (79 per cent).

Ringing alarm bells for council was a high percentage of kerb assets rated poor or very poor.

Only forty-one per cent of kerbing is considered to be in good or very good condition indicating a growing backlog of kerbs continuing to degrade over time.

Since 2019 the estimated cost of replacing damaged road assets has grown from three hundred and forty-seven million dollars to a staggering six hundred and ninety 
million dollars.

The council is currently spending $3.9 million a year on new infrastructure and $3.75 million a year on maintenance.

The report recommends lifting capital infrastructure spending to $5 million a year with additional funding from the Federal Government’s Roads to Recovery program.

An extra half a million dollars has been recommended for road and kerbside maintenance, street sweeping, 
roadside slashing and spraying.

Community feedback focussed primarily on improving roadside vegetation and a preference for permanent repairs over temporary maintenance such as pothole patching.

Council tabled the report with a comment from Councillor Rochelle Halstead that ratepayers expect council will competently manage the three R’s of roads, rates and 
rubbish.