Roadsides
Macedon Ranges Shire Council manages approximately 1,700km of roadsides for multiple outcomes – for protection and enhancement of biodiversity and habitat, to manage fire risks, and to ensure vehicle access and public safety.
In urban areas, roadsides are grassed or landscaped to enhance the aesthetics of our towns. In rural areas, we focus our resources on community safety and environmental biodiversity
VicRoads or Council: who manages what?
Council, Regional Roads Victoria and residents all have a role to play in maintaining and protecting our roadsides.
Regional Roads Victoria is responsible for roadsides along freeways and major roads between townships. Council manages all other local roadsides in the shire.
To find out if a road is managed by RRV or Council, you can view the below:
Roadside slashing
With limited resources, we need to strike the right balance between making our roads safe for drivers, preventing fires from starting on our roadsides, and protecting our natural environment. We also need to comply with native vegetation regulations.
Council slashes high use roadsides to reduce the likelihood of fires starting from hot vehicle exhausts, mechanical failures and collisions.
Typically 80 per cent of traffic uses 20 per cent of our roads so it makes sense to limit the costs to ratepayers by slashing these roads as a priority.
ROADSIDE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
The vegetation found on our rural roadsides is special. It is often the only remaining native vegetation in the landscape and provides critical habitat for threatened flora and fauna.
All roadside vegetation faces ongoing threats including weed invasion, grazing pressure, unapproved vegetation clearance and roadworks.
With good management, the integrity and quality of the shire’s high and medium valued roadsides can be enhanced. The Roadside Conservation Management Plan seeks to protect the important ecological values within the roadsides whilst ensuring appropriate fire risk mitigation and maintenance of road safety.
Roadside conservation guide posts
Roadsides are crucial habitats for native animals and plants, providing vital connectivity across the landscape as wildlife corridors. In the Macedon Ranges, these roadside reserves play a key role in protecting native vegetation, providing food, shelter, and protection from predators. Many of these plant and animal species are protected by state and federal laws, emphasising the need for their conservation.
Despite their importance, roadside vegetation face threats from vegetation clearance, weed invasion, and roadworks. Without proper management, the integrity and quality of these valuable roadside areas are at risk. To combat this, all council-managed roadsides are mapped to assess their conservation value, ranging from low to very high.
In line with the Council’s Roadside Conservation Management Plan 2021, guide posts will be installed along roadsides with high and very high conservation value. These guide posts will help identify significant native vegetation areas, aiding efforts to protect and enhance local biodiversity.
Working on roadsides
Undertaking any works/maintenance (such as mowing, slashing, planting or weed control) on roadsides requires confirmation with Council.
Before undertaking any works, contact Council to check if the works are allowed.
Council Officers will review the conservation status of the roadside and any land management requirements (such as the presence of noxious weeds, utilitity services and address safety concerns). You will be advised if the proposed works requires an Environmental Activity on Roadsides Approval.
If you have a query about undertaking works on a roadside, fill out our online expression of interest form to provide us with a description of works.
Expression of interest form
Approval for environmental works
If you are considering any activity on rural roadsides and reserves or town native nature strips that:
- impacts on Council land, fencing and infrastructure, and/or
- involves the removal of timber/firewood or vegetation, including grasses, shrubs, plants, trees, the removal of dead trees or fallen limbs from trees and weed control then you will need to apply for an Environmental Activity on Roadsides Approval
If you wish to undertake works on grassed or landscaped nature strips, see Nature Strips
Work must not commence until approval is issued.