Regional Roadside Environment program

The Regional Roadside Environment Program aims to maintain and improve the important ecosystem services and environmental values that high quality and well managed roadsides contribute to the landscape. These include biodiversity conservation, improved catchment and ecosystem health and maintaining the   aesthetic character of the landscape.  

The program pursues a holistic approach to the management of roadsides that encompasses all aspects of roadside management from planning and environmental assessment through to implementation of road maintenance and construction activities. This includes development of a suite of tools and resources that relate to all levels of road planning, construction and maintenance and the staff involved in these. These include planners, asset managers, field supervisors, GIS officers and environment staff.

Core elements of the program have included:

• Widespread consultation with councils to identify, document and validate the suite of management issues experienced by councils when managing roadside environments.
• Identifying and documenting the value of high quality roadside vegetation remnants across the region. 
• Developing a Regional Roadside Environmental Management Strategy to provide the strategic framework, direction and priorities for implementation of the Regional Roadside Environment Program;
• Developing a suite of management tools and products specifically tailored to addressing the management issues identified by councils. These include a model roadside environment policy, management guidelines, environmental assessment templates, GIS resources, staff training manual and field guides.
• Commencement of a roadside marker program to demarcate roadside environmental issues in the field. 

Identification of Roadside Management Issues

Over seventy council staff representing a diversity of roles and council management hierarchies participated in a consultation process. The range of organisational priorities and values that councils presently attribute to roadside environments include:

• Legislative compliance
• Safety and risk management
• Management and maintenance obligations, costs and efficiencies
• Natural resource and environmental values
• Recreational and visual amenity.

Consultation identified that considerable opportunity exists for regional collaboration between councils in regard to the implementation of enhanced roadside environmental management initiatives. This is particularly true in the areas of training, materials purchasing, community education and awareness, and the development of regionally consistent policy, planning, and environmental assessment and management tools.

A Stratergy for the Management of Roadside Environments in the Hunter, Central and Lower North Coast Region on NSW

Regional Roadside Environment Strategy
Central to implementation of the project has been development of a Regional Roadside Environmental Management Strategy. The Strategy has been developed to provide the strategic framework, direction and priorities for implementation of the Regional Roadside Environment Program.

The Strategy incorporates a suite of recommendations that have been formulated to meet and address the needs and management issues that have been identified by councils, and incorporate and build upon existing roadside management initiatives, programs and systems identified during literature reviews and consultation processes. The recommendations aim to:

• Build a consistent and comprehensive understanding, suite of skills, and information resources within councils to facilitate improved environmental assessment, protection, management and rehabilitation of council managed roadside environments.
• Recognise the considerable potential that exists for collaboration and resource sharing between councils in this regard to achieve multiple benefits including cost savings and efficiencies, avoidance of duplication of effort, and consistency in policy and practises.
• Contribute to the achievement of key management targets and investment priorities included in the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Action Plan. 

GIS Data Required to Assess and Inform Roadside Activities