History
The Streets Opening Coordination Council and its unincorporated predecessor the Streets Opening Conference have been in existence for since 1909.
The Sydney Streets Opening Conference was formed in 1909 to coordinate street openings in the City of Sydney in response to public frustration with the frequency of road and footpath opening.
As the Daily Telegraph said in 1909:
The trouble lies in the fact the City Council, the Gas Company, the Tramway Department, and the Postal Department do not arrange to do all their work simultaneously. If such a scheme could be carried out there would be a minimum of annoyance to the public.
The Conference allowed utility and authority members to coordinate standards for road opening and restorations.
In 2014 the Conference became an incorporated body and changed its name to the Streets Opening Coordination Council Incorporated.
The Guide to Codes and Practices for Streets Opening is the Conference’s best-known work. The Guide was first published in 1969, with some of the codes and practices adopted as early as 1932.
Some of the historical versions of the Guide to Codes and Practices for Streets Opening are here:
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1969
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1980
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1992
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1997
Guide to Codes & Practices for Streets Opening 2002
