History
The Streets Opening Coordination Council (SOCC) and its unincorporated predecessor the Streets Opening Conference (SOC) have been in existence 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 openings.
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 utilities and road authority members to develop common standards for road openings and restorations.
A comprehensive overview of the history of the Streets Opening Conference is contained in the publication “A Centenary of Utilities Cooperation 1909 – 2009”
In 2013 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 one of SOCC’s best-known publications. The Guide was first published in 1969, with some of the codes and practices adopted as early as 1932.
At the heart of the Guide is the allocation of footway space for laying underground services. The footway allocations which were adopted by SOC in 1953 are available here:
Allocation of Space for Public Utility Mains 1953
Footway allocations have been incorporated into the Guide to Codes and Practices for Streets Opening. The series historical versions of the Guide follow:
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1969
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1980
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1992
Information Bulletin on Codes & Practices 1997
