Prior to any new construction taking place at the
City, there must be a justified reason for doing it.
When a property owner requests a footpath, a sealed road or other infrastructure outside their home, we need to ensure this is needed and supported by other property owners in the street.
As long as a road is doing what it is meant to and is being well maintained, unless requested from the property owners or a risk is identified, we would not seal the road.
Construction of this nature would normally be done as part of our Special Rate and Charges program which is a cost share arrangement to assist the City to pay for improved infrastructure works that will benefit a group of property owners.
To ensure the City’s money is spent wisely, support is received from property owners (usually in the form of a petition) to agree with such construction prior to any detailed investigations and designs being carried out.
At the detailed investigation and design stage, we may identify issues that were not previously identified which may in some circumstances cease a project or increase the estimated costs.
Potential obstacles when upgrading local infrastructure
- Footpath on the other
side of the street – in some circumstances, it is not feasible to put a
footpath on both sides of a street.
- Trees/vegetation/native
grass – there may be instances where vegetation cannot be
moved or worked around.
- Future planning in the
area – footpaths may already be planned
as part of a future development.
- Swale drains – Swales can be part of an area’s natural landscaping, or they
can be created to help ensure proper drainage, minimise runoff, or capture of storm water. A man made swale on your property was put there for a reason, and
natural swales are serving a necessary water-carrying service as well. We
would not want to introduce anything to the swale that will impede the flow of
water.
- Structures already in
place – It may not be feasible to construct a footpath
where other structures such as boardwalks, retainer walls, or statues are already
in place.
- Services overground – Services such as street lighting poles and telecommunication
points may interfere with a footpath being constructed.
- Services underground – Services such
gas and oil pipelines, water/sewer pipelines, electric/data cables may
interfere with a footpath being constructed.
- Site restraints – There may be other site restraints such as inadequate spacing, ownership
of land or other site issues that may impact whether a footpath can be
constructed at a particular site.
- Contaminated soil – Historic uses of the land may mean contaminated soil
may need to be removed. Adding to the
cost.
- Cost – Depending on what is found after a thorough investigation, the
cost to construct the proposed works may not be accepted by Council.