A NEW campaign by the RACV calling for motorists to dob in a pothole has won lukewarm response from Moyne Shire’s mayor Cr Jim Doukas, who said the best way to have better roads was for fuel taxes to be spread around.
“This new awareness campaign is good, but it won’t help local councils who are hamstrung by lack of funds,” he told The Standard.
“Governments need to release the purse strings on fuel tax revenue, not syphon it off for other purposes.
“Everyone is paying more in fuel and if the taxes were returned to roads I reckon a lot of the problems could be fixed.”
RACV’s Pothole Patrol campaign is asking people to identify deteriorated roads and draw attention to maintenance issues by submitting photographs and locations via Facebook. “Rough, cracked and potholed roads have important safety and economic implications, particularly for rural communities,” the club said.
“Costs to the community included increased crashes, wear and tear on vehicles, fuel consumption and damage to goods being transported.
“Victoria’s roads have significantly deteriorated during the past 10 years under Labor and Liberal governments, but it’s imperative to halt the rot now.”
The RACV says without urgent extra funding Victoria’s roads would deteriorate to such a poor condition the only option would be to totally reconstruct them at enormous cost.
Submissions can be made through www.facebook.com/RACVPotholePatrol