The Minns Labor Government is moving ahead with plans to improve management and maintenance of NSW roads by developing a new system for roads to be recategorised and run by appropriate authorities.
A proposed new system developed by Transport for NSW aims to make it easier for road managers such as councils to access data about road usage and function in a transparent way so it can be used to help make evidence-based decisions about who should have responsibility for roads.
Historically there has been an ad-hoc approach to road recategorisation requests and decision-making in NSW, with no clear framework in place for road managers to understand how their roads are being used and which categories of State, Regional or Local roads they best fit into.
Until now, road managers have also had to wait years or decades for ad-hoc reviews of road category change requests.
The new process proposed by the Government is designed to be managed within existing budget and resourcing parameters, while ensuring roads are categorised appropriately based on evidence.
This involves deploying a clearer, easier and more streamlined system for road managers, mainly councils, to propose recategorisations of roads.
One key benefit of the new system will be the introduction of an online portal which will provide road managers with a one-stop-shop of relevant data such as maps, freight routes and key infrastructure such as hospitals, to help them understand who is best placed to manage relevant roads.
Regardless of who manages a road, the proposed new system has been established to enable managers, such as councils, to evaluate their own networks, put forward robust proposals and have them assessed in a timely manner.
Importantly, there will be an 'always open' approach for applications, meaning road managers will be able to submit proposals for road category changes at any time.
Overall, it will be a more straightforward and transparent process for identifying, processing and implementing road category changes.
Transport for NSW is now seeking feedback and collaboration from road managers to ensure that this new approach is sound and provides the transparent solution needed.
New guidance notes to outline the process and other key considerations have now been released to road managers for review and feedback ahead of further consultation in 2025.
For more information, visit NSW Road reviews.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
"The Minns Labor Government has heard the concerns of road managers and understands a better system is needed to manage responsibility of roads in NSW.
"The NSW road network is more than 185,000 kilometres long and much of that in regional NSW so the changes proposed aim to deliver better roads management for our regional communities in particular.
"Councils manage over 85 per cent of this network and our government is committed to collaborating with them on an improved new system.
"I encourage councils and all road managers to have their say as we need to make this fit for purpose and their feedback is a key part to ensuring we get this right.
"The former Liberal and National Government made promises to councils it couldn't deliver.
"Under the former government's road classification review they promised councils the state government would take responsibility for up to 15,000 kilometres of council roads. That never happened and the final review report was never released to the public.
"By contrast we promised to release a proposed business-as-usual approach to road recategorisation by the end of the year and we're delivering.
"We're not promising the world and delivering very little, instead we're promising a better approach that has evidence at its core and promotes transparent decision making to ensure the right responsibilities are sitting with the right road managers.
"We are now moving forward with plans to develop a fairer, more transparent evidence-based and sustainable business-as-usual approach to road recategorisation that will benefit all road users.
"It's all about ensuring the NSW road network is fit for purpose and that roads across the state are correctly categorised as State, Regional, or Local, so they are maintained by the appropriate road manager."
