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Notice of Motion 162 · 25 November 2024

Potholes and the state of arterial roads in Knox

2 min 27 s · Item 10.2, Notices of Motion · Carried unanimously

0:001:41:38

This report runs from 1:30:00 to 1:32:26 of a 1 h 42 min meeting. Watch the full meeting on the council webcast.

Summary

I moved a motion at my first Council meeting, on 25 November 2024, about the poor condition of the arterial roads in Knox. These are the major roads managed by the state government through VicRoads, and potholes and failing road surfaces came up again and again with residents during the election campaign.

The motion acknowledges that frustration, sets out the damage and safety risks, and asks Council to write to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety and our local state MPs, calling for thorough and regular maintenance and the resources to deliver it.

Photo from the month of this report

The motion

The notice of motion as lodged. It was carried without amendment.

That Council:

  1. Acknowledges the increasing frustration of residents regarding the poor and unacceptable condition of road surfaces and the proliferation of potholes on the arterial roads within the City of Knox, which are under the jurisdiction of VicRoads.
  2. Highlights that the neglect of these major roads has resulted in several critical issues for road users in Knox, including:
    1. Potential for vehicle damage, including tyre punctures, misalignment, and suspension damage due to potholes and uneven surfaces.
    2. Heightened risk of accidents as potholes can create sudden obstacles, which can lead to accidents as drivers swerve to avoid them or lose control after impact. This is particularly dangerous on high-speed arterial roads where quick reactions and sudden manoeuvres can result in collisions with other vehicles.
    3. Negative impact on the visual appeal and overall quality of life in the community.
  3. Writes to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Hon. Melissa Horne, and local state Members of Parliament, Jackson Taylor MP, Daniela De Martino MP and The Hon. Kim Wells MP representing Knox, outlining Council's concerns regarding:
    1. The poor and unacceptable state of road surfaces and the widespread issue of potholes on roads managed by VicRoads within the Knox area.
    2. The urgent need for thorough and regular maintenance in accordance with the Department of Transport Road Management Plan to address safety hazards and improve road conditions.
    3. Calls on the Department of Transport and Planning to reinstate the necessary resources to ensure these roads are properly maintained.
  4. Requests a response from the Minister regarding the maintenance regime to address these concerns and for this information to be shared with the Council and community at the earliest opportunity.

Transcript

Edited from the meeting's auto-generated captions.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Councillor Lockwood, for seconding. And Councillor Pearce was doing her best as well.

So look, I think it would have been fantastic to bring a notice of motion on behalf of all nine of us. I dare not speak on behalf of my colleagues, but I suspect that many of us have seen and heard these issues over the last few months, and we're all very keen to bring them to the first meeting of this new Council, as I said, to send a very united and clear message to the responsible authorities to stop leaving the roads in Knox in a languishing state of neglect.

And what have we seen? It hasn't crept up on us slowly. It's been getting obviously worse over recent years. It's the proliferation of potholes, the unsafe, unsightly medians on the arterial roads across Knox. And it won't be a surprise to anyone tuning into this meeting or anyone sitting in the gallery. On my drive here tonight, Wellington Road, Ferntree Gully Road, Burwood Highway: crumbling side walls, potholes galore. It's very visible, it's very unsafe. It's a blight and it's a hazard for road users in the municipality.

And we all know what the track record is of the responsible authorities to date. Pothole repairs, and I use the word repairs very lightly, Madam Mayor: it's often like a Band-Aid on a gaping wound, and we always see the same thing, that the next time it rains the potholes reopen, and often in worse condition than they started.

And I've spoken to a few motorcyclists in the last few days who have given me a new perspective on just how dangerous it is to enter arterials and need to come up to speed quite quickly, and really not know where the next pothole will be. They have a memory bank that they save, but we know these are appearing new and all the time. So it's quite literally an accident waiting to happen.

I think it's fair to say the community is demanding action, action in the form of proper care and maintenance. Enough is enough, and I call on the responsible authorities to actually come out to Knox, have a look for themselves, get your act together and attend to these as a matter of urgency. Thank you.