Macedon Ranges council had two reports on roads for the Public Road Register to decide on at its 22 October meeting.
The first road councillors decided on was a request to include a section of Red Gap Road, Goldie, in the Public Road Register.
A report was originally presented to a council meeting in August 2024, recommending a correction to an administrative error in council’s Asset Management System and the Public Road Register, by including segment one (comprising 855 metres of fire access track, extending from the bend of West Goldie Road towards the eastern side of Red Gap Road) as a category four unsealed road in the register.
The report also requested removal of segment two of Red Gap Road and registering it as a Fire Access Track.
Council officers have been consulting with impacted property owners on both sections, and recommended at the recent council meeting to add segment one to the register, and for council to continue to keep and maintain segment two as a category four unsealed road on the public road register, which passed.
Cr Rob Guthrie said the road had been maintained by council for some time.
“We looked at this last year when it came to council, and we’d been maintaining this section of road for 10 years … to me, this (decision) is just common sense,” he said.
Councillors then voted not to proceed with including the existing Fire Access Track section of Newlands Road, Darraweit Guim to council’s Public Road Register.
However, as part of the same recommendation, they voted to add the section of Kenedys Lane between Bolinda – Darraweit Road and Newlands Road to the register as a category five unsealed road.
Cr Daniel Scanlon said this road should be looked at by council in the future.
“It’s my belief there’s still a section of that road that would be unmaintained,” he said.
“You get to where Newland Road turns, and you’ve still got a section of road reserve there that potentially could be overgrown, and wouldn’t allow for emergency vehicles to go through.
“I know that road very well, and it would be worth having a look at this road again in the future.”
