Coffs Harbour’s road network stretches further than the drive to Brisbane, and now every kilometre of it falls under a single new policy.
At its meeting on 20 August, Coffs Harbour City Council adopted the new Roads Management Policy, replacing three separate policies covering unmade public roads, construction works by private individuals on public roads, and roadside service signage.
Acting Mayor George Cecato said the sheer scale of the network showed why one framework was needed.
“The City has a road network of 887 kilometres, if you put that end to end it’s longer than the distance between Sydney and Brisbane,” Acting Mayor Cecato said.
“The updated Roads Management Policy spells out our commitment to the various grades of roads in that extensive network.”
The policy aims to provide best value service to the community through a lens of a risk-based road management framework.
Of that network, 792 kilometres are sealed and 95 kilometres unsealed. The new policy also brings 28 kilometres of previously excluded informal roads onto the books for the first time, classifying them as “4WD access only” and adding them to the city’s asset register, at an estimated replacement cost of $4.2 million.
Roads across the network are now sorted into five classifications: Regional Roads, known as Arterial roads, Minor Arterial, Collector, Local, and 4WD Access Only.
City Transport and Open Space Services Group Leader Daniel Noble said the policy used “a risk-based, financially sustainable approach which prioritises safety, legal compliance, community benefit and long-term asset performance.”
Under the new policy, council will also economically evaluate sealing any unsealed road that carries more than 250 vehicles a day.
“Road classification is used along with other considerations to determine the level of upkeep applied and the standard to which they are maintained,” Mr Noble said.
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