- Lack of regular grading of dirt roads, especially those with heavy vehicle movements

- More kerb and guttering needed for some of the older parts of the city – for example west Griffith

- Push for an upgrade for the pothole-riddled Boorga Road at Lake Wyangan

- A roundabout, flashing lights or other increased safety measures for intersection of Kidman Way and North Kooba Settlers Road

- Bringagee Road upgrade from gravel to sealed

- More safety measures for blackspots like the Yoogali intersection

- More footpaths for high-pedestrian areas

- More clarity for drivers at the McDonald’s/Big W roundabout

- Kalinda Road to be sealed

Council says: 

Councillor Doug Curran, chairman of traffic committee, chairman of transport and logistics committe’s reply:

“Roads are extremely expensive, probably number two or three on our list of expenses. We get criticised regularly about the lack of work we do, yet we spend an inordinate amount of money on them. We’ve told the Roads and Maritime Service we need more funding, but they say back to us we need to be more efficient. The fact is, everyone who lives on a dirt road wants it to be graded more often, everyone wants potholes fixed, everyone wants kerb and guttering. We have limited funds, so we need to prioritise. If a dirt road has 100 cars an hour on it, then it probably needs to be sealed. But if it has 100 cars a day, then it’s hard to justify. The only solution is council needs to keep applying for external funding and make its existing funds go further. Lately, we’ve been doing that. We might get funding for one kilometre of footpath, but through efficiencies and great work from the contractors we’re able to do 1.5km.”

We say:

Few issues frustrate and infuriate residents more than the state of local roads. Unsealed and pot-holed roads jeopardise safety and take their toll on vehicles. Road and footpath maintenance is an expensive business, and becoming moreso. But despite its budgetary pressures, council must continue to make roads and footpaths a top priority. If that means freeing up funds by rationalising other services or simply being more aggressive in external funding applications, then so be it.