This year’s premier gathering of municipal leaders, engineers, and municipal works staff at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds in Bendigo was nothing short of inspiring. The conference brought together a diverse group of professionals, all dedicated to exchanging innovative ideas and best practices for improving municipal works. The focus this year? Exploring collaborative approaches to address the growing challenges faced by cities and communities.

Event Highlights

The event saw significant growth, with 90 exhibitors showcasing the latest technologies, products, and solutions, and a confidence-inspiring 900+ visitors — a 30% increase from last year. This surge in attendance speaks to the growing importance of municipalities working together to address key issues like infrastructure, sustainability, and resilience.

The Komatsu dinner was once again a highlight, with Rodney Hogg entertaining the crowd and plenty of opportunities to meet new contacts and renew old friendships in a relaxed and friendly environment. Shane Crawford’s keynote address wrapped up the conference on Friday and provided interesting insights into his sporting career.

Key Takeaways

One of the standout aspects of this conference was the emphasis on collaboration. The event showcased how municipalities, engineers, and service providers can work together more effectively to tackle everything from frontline maintenance impacts to infrastructure revitalisation. The collective sharing of best practices, new technologies, and real-world solutions fostered an environment ripe for innovation and learning.

Networking and Engagement

Beyond the presentations and speeches, the event was a prime opportunity for networking. Attendees were able to engage with peers from around Victoria, sparking discussions and partnerships that will likely carry on well after the conference concludes. The chance to connect with experts in the field and share experiences was invaluable for both seasoned professionals and newcomers alike. Both Mat & Dave particularly enjoyed catching up with so many of our customers in an informal environment, allowing for free-flowing conversation and laugh or two.

Looking Ahead

As the conference wrapped up, it was clear that the municipal works industry is entering a new era of collaboration and innovation. The ideas and partnerships formed will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of city planning, infrastructure, and community development. We’re excited to see how these insights will unfold in the coming months and years.

Conclusion

This year’s Municipal Works Conference was a resounding success, offering rich opportunities for learning, networking, and collaboration. For those who attended, the event was a reminder of the incredible work being done to improve our cities and communities. As we move forward, we encourage everyone to stay engaged, continue the conversations, and contribute to building stronger, more sustainable municipalities.

In mid-2018, the Frankston Train Station Precinct underwent a major redevelopment, transforming the heart of Frankston City. Upgrades included an air-conditioned waiting room, new platforms, and better local access for all abilities. Young Street, specifically, now boasts pedestrian-friendly facilities, new footpath paving, ample seating, and thoughtfully designed landscaping to create a welcoming and accessible environment for all travellers.

The Frankston Train Station is the 19th busiest terminal across the Melbourne train network with its Wikipedia page information supporting the estimation of at least 5 million having walked the paths over the last 6 and a half years.

5 million steps sure is a great way to put a product through its paces and we’re proud to say that our Access Tile^® has performed exceptionally well, both in the Cast-in-Place and Surface Applied tile formats.

The ESP team assisted the appointed contractor during the upgrade of the footpaths, installing Cast-in-Place tactiles integrated with the paving works and Surface Applied tactiles where it was not suitable to use Cast-in-Place, for example where timing didn’t align or where the layout included a curve.

Spanning nearly 350 meters along Young Street, over 600 of our 300×600 white warning and directional Access Tiles® were installed.

A recent visit back to the site after nearly 7 years has filled us with joy, noting the vast majority of tiles are still in exceptional condition. In our travels, we see a number of examples of other ‘white’ tiles that have greyed or turned beige. Our tiles have remained a crisp white with only a bit of built-up surface dirt shifting the colour slightly darker. Luminance contrast between the tactiles and substrates remains compliant.

Slip resistance is still of a completely satisfactory standard with the domes and prisms showing minimal wear in only the most heavily trafficked areas.

A core value of ESP and the products we bring to market is to maintain sensitivity and respect for the environmental impact we have. Having an important safety product in a public environment shouldn’t mean excess waste is created when products fail, so to use a long-lasting, durable tactile not only saves time and money but importantly minimises impact to the environment by eliminating the need for frequent replacement.

If your next project calls for tactiles, get in touch with us to learn why ESP’s Access Tile® is the smarter choice.