Future City: Making the CBD more walkable

Please remember we are a regional city, if Council and the Business Community want people in the CBD, cars are a consequence.
You are not going to have the desired effect as suggested by the Consultants, of people visiting other shops after having done the grocery shopping and having to travel 2 – 3 blocks back to their cars. This is crazy thinking. It will not happen or will be minimal at the best.
Please, if you are considering nose in parking, reconsider this, the Consultants talk about safety, this has to be the most dangerous way of parking, reverse in parking please. It is far safer to drive out and being able to see what is coming than to reverse out into the unknown because you are unable to see.
Remember this is all about SAFETY.
I support the 40km/hr speed limit, and Summer Street being one lane in each direction however put a load limit on Summer Street.
If you close off any of the streets in the CBD you are going to move the problem of traffic to another area e.g. Byng and Kite Streets thus creating another problem for Council to fix.

Having lived in Dubbo for 20 years I observed a gradual removal of trees from the CBD over those years until few are left. If reports about the removal of trees in Anson St are to be believed then I feel this is a retrograde step. They provide amenity and shade. Orange's street trees are a feature of this city. Once Council start removal, it's a very slippery slope. It would be cheaper and more logical to guard and make safe the existing trees and blend them into a more pedestrian friendly Anson St. Renewal of a space doesn't mean removal of the assets that we hold dear.

don’t do anything major to roads until parking is sorted. construct multi level car parks or other solutions before you try and make the CBD more pedestrian friendly as residents will become annoyed

Re: nose-to-kerb, subscribers have noted the larger numbers of light commercial vehicles and SUVs operating and parking in the CBD as part of a national trend. I'd add that the supposed N-T-K benefit of selecting a time to rejoin traffic flow is further negated by having to look over the shoulder and having line-of-sight at least a metre and a half further away from the lane compared to rear-to-kerb. Regardless, both options require patience and attention from all concerned which would be helped by the 40kmh proposal. The mix of impatient drivers and unpredictable pedestrians is probably 50-50. Stay safe everyone.

40km speed limit will just make people more frustrated, especially during peak hour and with the lights at the bottom of the Main Street, that are not even green long enough for two cars to pass through. I feel it will just congest the Main Street more. Are the city’s roundabout effective? Sure, but the one on woodward st and Wentworth ln is not. Nobody follows the lanes there because of how poorly shaped the roundabout is. The lanes are to small and too tight of a turn, the worst roundabout in town.

It won't happen, though it's worth a thought- Why not have no traffic in central Main Street, bordered by Lords Place to Kite entrance on Eastern side, and Anson Street to Kite Street entrance on the Western side.
No traffic in these areas would allow them to be utilised safely by all pedestrian traffic and developed into the food/entertainment/shopping Hub that it is already becoming. Imagine lots of seating and some beautiful plantscaping, fairy lights and lots of very happy human beings, thriving in the communal heart of their own city. And no cars..... No need for parking solutions/roundabouts or changed crossings.
Lets just do it.
Sharon Jarvis

I know In the road rules it says cars to not give way to pedestrians.. maybe allow that follow what Bathurst has done by putting crossings in at roundabouts

Dubbo has nose in parking and I found it quite difficult trying to reverse out due to drivers not waiting for you to leave ur parking spot.. reverse in parking would be much more safer to have.

The roundabouts in Orange do force traffic to slow down, but are not safe for pedestrians. The only formal crossings are mostly at traffic lights and outside schools. We need more formal crossings to protect pedestrians and bike riders from vehicles.

If Council wants to reduce or slow down vehicular traffic in the CBD, they first need to reduce the number of heavy vehicles which still use Summer Street and provide alternate routes around the CBD, particularly for motorists travelling from west to east and east to west. Traffic in Byng, Kite and Moulder Streets is already heavy and introducing the proposed measures would probably increase traffic on these street. Nose in parking may be useful in some situations, but since parking in Summer Street is already parallel, it cannot be used in the busiest street of the CBD. Removing roundabouts would require the installation of traffic lights - an expensive solution which would hold traffic up even more - or give way signs - another means of holding up traffic and causing frustration for motorists who are required to wait until all cars have passed.

Nose in parking: I recommend nose in parking after experiencing it in Narrabri, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga. In combination with the 40km/hr speed limit it should make the CBD of Orange much more liveable.
Currently reverse parking in Piesley St near the IGA supermarket is fraught.
However, I reckon you will encounter howls & screams of protest concerning the change. You'll need a thick skin and industrial deafness, but the change will greatly benefit us.

40 k not going to make a difference at peak times its usually less than that
Nose in parking not safe in a street the width of ours more dangereous when loading and very costly to chance signs and tree surrounds and confusing unless it covers the whole city
Scamble crossings not really necessary as there are plenty of places to cross safely so long as everyone watches the road and not their phones.
Let's see it we can fill these empty shops changing any road and parking rules not going to bring in more business or shoppers ,maybe reducing rates in the CBD might encourage more businesses to open up might ge a tough call for the council but maybe not as costly as these other proposals and it just might open up our beautuful city some new businesses and give some relief to the existing ones

Please no 40km or nose in parking but highly support scramble crossings. it’s a pain waiting extra time to get from say, woolworths to athletes foot, it creates a smooth transition. when installed, have timer crossings so pedestrians know how long until the lights change. nose in parking is dangerous.

Please do not introduce nose-in parking in Orange. There is a big percentage of 4-wheel drive and big utes in Orange and anyone who drives a sedan would be backing out into traffic blind. I can't see that this change would make the flow of traffic any better and would certainly cause so many more accidents. Orange needs more long-term parking so that shoppers, particularly from out of town, can complete their business and shop without having to move their vehicles.

I think that it should be 40 klms all over Orange and we should have a no go area for shopping IE no cars
then we can all have a safe area to walk and shop also for driving around Orange
Regards R

The 40k speed limit should work but there will still be those drivers who like to speed up between every set of lights. A big NO to the nose-in parking as it is safer to back in and drive out, especially if a van or SUV parks beside you, it is hard enough in the car parks when people won't stop and let you reverse out. Widening the median strip would make backing out worse as a one lane street will stifle the flow of traffic. If Council wants more parking in Summer Street they should paint parking lines to encourage drivers to park sensibly. Most of the roundabouts work well but some need the gardens lowered so that you can see the cars on the other side to get an idea of where they are going if and when they use their indicators.

I don't mind the idea of 40k speed limit, but nose-in parking is bad bad bad!
Try reversing a sedan out of nose-in parking when there is a large SUV next to you... you can't see approaching traffic until most of your vehicle is in the traffic lane.
There will be a lot of accidents and near misses. Imagine the potential carnage of a vehicle reversing out being shunted back in and up on to the sidewalk... someone could easily die.
At least with rear-to-kerb parking you can see approaching traffic coming earlier as you try to join traffic, and if you are hit you will shunt sideways against the alignment of your tyres, rather than flying on to the sidewalk in the direction of tyre alignment.
Fencing along the middle of the road is a good idea too - to group people at crossing points, rather than having people playing Russian roulette crossing wherever they please as it is now. I would love to see the Police enforcing safe pedestrian crossing of streets - I see so many people crossing against red lights with no regard for anyone else - it's infuriating and unsafe!

We do not need to lower the speed limit. Pedestrians need to take more responsibility and care when crossing roads.
Summer Street in the CBD is not wide enough for nose in parking.
Round about are good especially if and when drivers learn to use them correctly

4oKm ph in the main st is great. Scrambled crossings will give pedestrians greater flexibility in moving around the CBD and improve vehicle traffic flow moving into side streets. Not a fan of nose in parking having lived with it in Albury. There are significant safety concerns for parents getting prams from tailgated vehicles with traffic passing only meters away. Similarly, placement of goods in the rear of tailgated vehicles has safety issues. Current parallel parking arrangements allow for retrieval of prams and placement of toddlers directly on the footpath as well as safe retrieval and placement of goods.. Once the Distributor and Southern Feeder are aligned to give heavy vehicles smoother access to their destination, then Summer St can become a more pleasant walk able space.

Definitely support nose-in parking. On balance this method brings benefits to traffic flow, efficient use of parking space, and safety. This is why it is the preferred method of parking across most of the country. However, to implement it in the CBD only with other angle parking in town remaining rear-in will create confusion among motorists as to how they should park where, and will make it more difficult to realise the benefits.

The current roundabouts in Orange are particularly poorly designed; they are too small and have an incoherent combination of entry/exit lanes. This exacerbate motorist impatience and encourages disregard of road rules. Moreover, small roundabouts accelerate tyre wear resulting in additional vehicle maintenance cost. However, the broader urban design in Orange makes improving roundabouts difficult and costly. In particular, the proximity of footpaths and buildings constrain making roundabouts larger.