Future City : Year One

While I like the idea of more greenery & art in the CBD I think Council needs to focus on:
1). Solving the water shortage issue. Why should residents be on permanent water restrictions because Council has failed to provide the necessary infrastructure for the population! They should consider subsidising the purchase of water tanks.
2). Build a therapy pool for residents with disabilities to use.
3). Upgrade more roads in the city.
4). Ensure that all the residential public walkways are mowed regularly.
5). Prune street trees where rootstock is growing.

While it would look aesthetically pleasing, there is too much traffic in the CBD to reduce four-lane roads into two lanes. Same with the round-a-bouts.
I find it bizarre that Council is prepared to spend so much money on city beautification but makes such a fuss about picking up people’s mattresses!
Surely the Council is here to serve its residents. Get the basics right first then look at the “fripperies”.

I think the McNamara Street car park improvements should include an outdoor cinema, that would be an asset tothe city.

To refresh Lords Place, McNamara Street is a positive initiative - it currently presents as a tired precinct infrastructure wise.

Reducing the Lords/Byng roundabout to one lane only is a positive step that will improve vehicle safety. The structure is too small to carry two lanes of traffic effectively.

The plans seem to suggest retention of the current antiquated system of rear to kerb parking, yet Orange Future City has elsewhere proposed a change to more contemporary nose in parking. Narrowing of Lords Place and Byng Street without adopting nose in parking will adversely affect traffic flow and contribute to greater motorist anxiety.

This all looks very pretty but non-sensical. Narrowing the streets is ridiculous, Orange is known and loved for its wide streets. I have a real issue with nose-in parking. Have you ever tried to reverse out of a nose-in parking spot, especially if you have large vehicles parked beside you, it's a nightmare. I'm also pretty annoyed at Council spending so much money on "frippery" when there are so many things that Orange needs. There is a total lack of infrastructure, particularly in the area of water supply which is insufficient for the current population of Orange let alone the influx of residents expected. There is also a huge need for a therapeutic pool for people with injuries and disabilities or just for the elderly who take their safety into their own hands when using the current pool. Council seems fixated on non-essential ideas rather than much needed things.

The Lords Place / Byng st is another stupid Council idea, moving the taxi rank to Summer st is about as DUMB as they can get. All the council wants to do is make difficult for cars to drive in Orange. As shown with all the closed off corners with great lumps of concrete that are at the intersections.
How about they start repairing the disgraceful roads, & getting a permanent water supply for all the hundreds of new houses being built, something like a NEW DAM.
Instead of all these crazy schemes that this council has.

Super ideas, cant wait to see it. Well done council!

Great idea as long as the trees do not pose a threat to traffic or pedestrians in future years.

I enjoy the McNamara Lane plans. can it include plans to make the laneway next to canobolas more friendly to make it connect to the CBD more. The Taxi rank relocation is also a great idea. Please do not do anything to Byng street until it is less congested: ie reopen march street level crossing or make peisley street/byng street traffic lights. Lords place is good with parking and accessibility and will hopefully improve the area

The footpaths will be good, can we also replace the brick footpaths they look so dated.

It's good that the council is updating parts of the CBD. The ideas for McNamara Street seem positive, although any reduction in car parking should be reconsidered as it's always a popular place to park. In addition, I'm not sure that reducing the number of lanes in Lords Place and Byng Street from two to one will be advantageous to the people of Orange - and visitors. There are often times when a right turn into Summer Street from Lords Place takes more than one change of the traffic lights due to the number of cars that are crossing Summer Street. One lane would only exacerbate this issue - as it would at the Byng Street roundabout if the left turn lane was eliminated in all four directions.

The removal of the taxi rank from Lords Place to Summer Street could also be an issue as it would potentially reduce the number of parking spaces available to the general public. At times, too, the number of taxis exceeds the space available and some taxis are parked partly into the road. Currently, this doesn't adversely affect the flow of traffic but it would if the taxi rank were to be relocated to Summer Street.

I am not a Foodey or Greeney but the plans look excellent and anything that brings people to the CBD and beautifies it is an excellent outcome.

I think the beautification of these areas is great and if some trees have to be removed for future planning, so be it, just like our new stadium, trees have to be removed for the future of the City. More Parking really needs to be considered in these areas due to the number of drivers (along with pedestrians) that frequent the Hotels, Banks, Coffee Shops, Supermarkets, TAB etc. With limited parking spaces how do the elderly, disabled, injured get on as they rely on cars - in the new plans designated drop off spaces need to be included in Summer Street, Byng Street & Lords Place as it is illegal to drop off in a bus zone. Traffice flow is paramount to these streets and I disagree with changing 2 lanes to 1. The impact of this will see all of the other roundabouts & lights backed up which defeats the purpose of safely crossing the road. Please condider drivers not just pedestrians. Workers need to be a consideration of future plans, as they are the spenders who keep our City alive, not just tourists who visit intermittently. I really do not think we need more garden beds in the middle of the road, it is hard enough now for the upkeep of our roads and streets, not to mention the excess water that may be needed. Now is the time to plan a multi-storey carpark in this area to take the load of the main street - there are numerous areas that could be considered.

McNamara Lane concept good but as local businesses are already doing it tough, why attract pop-ups unless they are restricted to local businesses only?
Who was smoking what when it came to Lords Place? WHY remove perfectly good trees to then replace them in a narrower street that will impede traffic flow?. The aim is to attract people to the CBD but you slow down traffic flow and remove parking spaces - parking is already a big problem that OCC appears unable to address. Rethink this one.

This all sounds great except we need more parking ASAP as it is!!! Please consider this in your plans.

Like McNamara Lane upgrade but am concerned with the narrowing of Lords Place and Byng St and the roundabout hindering traffic flow. It is congested enough now and will be worse with one lane.
Ray.

McNamara Lane looks great, but I hope that it doesn't become a dropkick hang out at night when there aren't events happening. I seriously hope there will be a strong police presence to protect the businesses that are already established there.

I am concerned about the removal of trees in Lords Place. Why is there a need to chop down old trees and replace them with new ones? We have the technology, skills and design teams (which I hope are employed by the council) to find a solution around chopping down of the trees - just think about the Lorax WHO SPEAKS FOR THE TREES....I can see you are narrowing streets etc around Summer Street to make it more pedi friendly, but one of the joys of living in a small country town is that you can drive into town without hassles of parking. We moved here because we like the wide streets in the main part of town.... please don't take that away

Looks very promising, especially like the idea of Lords Place roundabout being single lane

McNamara Ln plan sounds great, as does the majority of the Byng St / Lords Place plans.
But why does council insist on narrowing all of Oranges streets?
Our forefathers had the good sense to gift us wide streets but the current council wants to place traffic islands and choke points that impede traffic flow and make it nearly impossible for buses and other heavy vehicles to navigate the areas around the CBD ?

More trees are great but please don’t plant any more Callery Pear trees. They smell awful and there are many better alternatives for urban foliage.

I love the plans for McNarmara Lane, its a great use of a rather dated space and will definitely make the space feel more inviting for the businesses there. I think it will also make the car park feel safer not only with the improved lighting but with more people around.

I also think the murals are a great idea, love it!

In relation to Lords Place and Byng St I have mixed feelings. It is a shame about the removal of the trees but I understand that for the overall development this may be necessary. I am also concerned the single lane round-a-bout will cause further congestion. However as I mother of young children the inclusion of wider median strips would be amazing. I also feel for those pushing wheelchairs and prams on small median strips. There really is no way to do it safely.

Overall I think the plans are a fabulous idea. I hope it all starts happening soon. I moved to Orange (from Dubbo) due to its beautiful trees and vegetation (something poor Dubbo is very lacking) so it is great to see these as a focus for your plans (not to mention for the environment!).