Future City: Making the CBD more walkable

Nose in parking may be faster when parking but more dangerous when leaving the parking spot. Scrambled crossings are a faster way of getting to where you want to go, instead of waiting to cross 2 roads. But I think the best option is to stop all cars from Summer St and Anson St ( in the main sections from Lords Pl to Anson St) so we have pedestrian only zones. No need for crossings as it will be all a mall. To achieve this, we will have a ring road around the CBD. Once the Southern Distributor is completed, together with the Northern Distributor, all trucks should be out of the CBD and so local traffic could handle the change in CBD routes.

Yes agree to 40km/h speed limit for Orange CBD and scramble crossings. Roundabouts are the best way to manage busy intersections and control traffic flows. Speed humps or ripple strips should be installed on all approaches so as so slow traffic entering roundabouts as too many Orange residents speed and enter roundabouts without due care. A council sponsored education program on how to enter and leave roundabouts is needed.
The idea and arguments for nose in parking make sense and I would support its implementation in Orange.

It’s a shame your survey doesn’t give provision for additional comments. One immediate thing to improve traffic would be to ban semi or or larger trailers from Summer St. They’re noisy, unsightly, and compromise traffic and pedestrian safety. Other than large scale deliveries, what excuse is there for trucks on Summer St. You also don’t provide any traffic management.
Frankly, I think Orange has sufficient flow management and safety measures but they are poorly understood or used correctly.

Nose in parking does not work in high traffic area. Limited rear vision makes exiting more dangerous.
If Summer St becomes a high street not a highway then there state govt must agree to making the northern distributor the highway.

If nose in parking is the way to go, the Orange community needs to be educated on how to give way to a reversing vehicle.

Stupid idea, take it back to 60 and put a fence down the middle of the street to stop pedestrians darting out across the road, and encourage them to use the provided pedestrian crossings.
I was doing the survey but i hit the wrong button and I cannot get it back

I agree with lowering the speed limit but disagree with the nose in parking. That is going to cause a lot of traffic flow issues and if I am parked next to a large vehicle I will not be able to see oncoming traffic without having half of my vehicle out of the park. Truck and heavy vehicles need to be banned from the Main Street, espically large ones. Smaller trucks that are doing deliveries aren’t a problem but semis need to go.

Nose in parking is ridiculous, I do not know how someone backing out into traffic with restricted vision is safer than being able to drive out with a better view. This idea does not make any sense at all, imagine having two larger longer vehicles beside you , you then have to back out into traffic to see if there are any vehicles coming ,you would hit a vehicle if you could not see properly. Why do people come up with these stupid ideas thinking it will make life easier. As far as coming up with better ideas than roundabouts, how much of rate payer money do you want to waste replacing current roundabouts with something different. Do you realise its up to pedestrians to start following the rules also as cars have the right of way on the road, cars are not driving on footpaths so maybe educate the foot traffic in order to make things safer

Having lived in two Australian states and several different towns with different parking methods, I would like to chip in with comments about nose in parking. It’s SO much better than the current chaotic system used in Orange. Traffic is kept flowing more smoothly. It’s more accurate and neater as well as safer. Look at Albury, Goulburn, Wagga, Dubbo, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Young....all Towns with similar rural demographics to Orange with Utes and 4WDs as well as smaller cars. Nose in parking is their preferred method and it works well.

I don't believe that the advantages of nose-in parking will be fully realised where traffic in Orange is concerned. The concentrations of SUV's and farm/tradie utes will make visibility impossible for smaller cars trying to reverse into oncoming traffic.

A reduction of the CBD speed limit to 40kph is only going to intensify the increasing bottle neck effect of traffic in the CBD and surrounding blocks, particularly during peak times. Statistics stated for injury levels in 50k/h zones already prove acceptable when compared to the old 60kph zones. A study of traffic flow through the CBD of Griffith NSW will show that a combination of nose in parking and a 40kph speed limit offer almost untrafficable conditions.

Scramble crossings will hold traffic up for longer periods than currently occurs. This is going to increase traffic congestion in the CBD and surrounding blocks and main thoroughfares.

Is it really a good idea to try to make the CBD more "walkable" when a great deal of our motor traffic consists of farmers, graziers, horticulturalists, and the mining community who travel into the city from out of town and rely on trafficable streets in order to conduct their shopping, trading, and gathering supplies for their primary industry businesses? It does feel that this demographic have been forgotten when these proposals have been developed.

It’s good that the council recognising traffic as a problem as they seem have Not considered same even in recent road constructions done, i e still having new road constructions with one lane on each side for vehicles/ bikes.
However reducing speed limit wouldn’t be the solution for this; can we reduce it further and further! When the traffic is getting busier? , we need to have a solid / alternative plans as Orange continues with further influx of people (and vehicles) in future too - which is a good thing.
Also the council need to open into the things that other neighbouring cities done; Bathurst/Dubbo and other similar NSW rural cities like Albury - they have not reduced speed to 40, in fact some areas are 60. They have used alternative strategies
Pls be more broad and long term in thinking council
Thanks

All sounds pretty good, however you’re missing one major thing - GET THE BIG TRUCKS OUT OF SUMMER ST!!!
Not the smaller delivery trucks, but the semi trailers that don’t need to be in Summer St.

Simple answer .......weight restrictions on who & what can access Summer St.

40KPH is fine - the CBD is a trundle anyway - Look into getting the light cycles restructured - Summer street at lords is never contraflow - Piesley St at Summer St needs to contraflow as well. If you're reducing the speed limit allow traffic to flow better.

Nose in parking - doesn't work well in busy situations - Orange drivers have a hard enough time reverse angle parking; reversing into busy streets is going to cause major accident issues and confuse people, especially as you try to encourage regional travel, it's a novelty to a lot of people (basically anyone who does not live rural) as nose in parking isn't the norm for larger centres.

Scramble crossings - a good idea but do we really have the need for it with the limited amount of heavy foot traffic in the CBD? Alternating scramble to every 2nd or 3rd set of light changes between normal crossings may be more ideal; BUT what's to ensure road traffic doesn't catch each set of scramble lights all along summer street? Again; properly regulating traffic contra flow would greatly alleviate the need for crossing changes.

Round-abouts are good you outlay all the positive points for them... Its driver and pedestrian education that needs to change - What are the alternatives aside from lights or intersections? No mention of what those options may be.

In addition to these great plans. It would benefit traffic congestion, by installing time restricted no right hand turning onto summer street from the anson street, and lords placeq. Thank you

Yes to lower speed limit for Summer Street for safety reasons
I like scramble crossing as a pedestrians and as there ae in near CBD they do not seem to affect flow of traffic; better for kids and families and disabled
Not so sure of nose in parking as it is awkward to reverse out of nose-in parking
I like roundabouts as they are generally good for the flow of traffic, more so than traffic lights. Some drivers do not use them correctly. Buses and trucks can have some difficulty so design is important.

Instead of wasting millions on an extension to the art gallery can this money be put into concreting pathways in all streets. It makes it really difficult to walk when there are no paths and uneven footpaths so you need to walk on the road. When new housing areas are designed it should be mandatory that footpaths are built

There is no traffic in Orange what a waste of Money.. Reduce rates !