Future City : Year One

Moving the taxi rank to Summer Street ( Mitchell Highway ) brings up a few issues.
1) Safety : The safety of drivers and passengers entering and alighting is a concern especially on a busy narrow main road.
2) Access : access to current taxi rank in lords place is via lords place north and south and summer st east and west. Access to proposed taxi rank will have only 1 access , from west on Summer St.
3) Clutter : A majority of customers using the lords place rank are shoppers with trolleys. At times there could be 30-40 empty trolleys in the vicinity of the taxi rank. If this was replicated at the Summer St taxi rank, pedestrian access would be disrupted.

I’m not certain that Councils consultants have captured the CBD traffic issues appropriately.

Summer Street is the Mitchell Hwy and RMS has responsibilities for the carriageway, despite the NDR, the central CBD street of Orange remains a national highway. By its very nature then it becomes busy at times with through traffic, add local traffic at peak times it becomes busier.

Reducing traffic flow on the streets immediately north and south of the main St will only push that traffic onto Summer St creating more congestion. Additional CBD multi story parking in the CBD may help but the cross town traffic needs to cross town somehow.

If the aim is to create a pedestrian friendly environment install more traffic lights and abolish roundabouts in those streets or install pedestrian crossings, the pedestrian crossing in Kite St at the rear of the City Centre works.... there are no others are there?

I am concerned for the Safety of passengers and Taxi Drivers getting in and out of Taxis at the proposed Summer St Taxi Rank.

My two cents, please take a step back at look at the flow of people movement. Where are the large scale carparking solutions, and traffic management, and pedestrian access. This plan has been in the works for a while but with an influx of new residents and more and more interest a new look at the plan needs to happen.

Creation of a large entertainment precinct with traffic flow considerations and carparking would be a better solution. pedestrianise McNamara north and south either side of summer Street, lords place north and south, Byng St opposite the Civic Centre and summer St. Pedestrian access and safety would improved greatly, make it a big alfresco dining and entertainment precinct.
Should the taxi rank be moved to the south side of summer st, opposite the two shopping centres shopping centres. The taxis are lined up down summer st that can turn down Anson st in any direction(right hand turn land and lights are probably required).
Safety can be improved in Robertson park one way us lighting but bringing more people into the area is another. Consider solar solutions.

Art galleries down McNamara st is a great idea, but access and parking facilities need to be invested in with budget for signage. Yes plant more trees, but I wouldnt put them down McNamara St. I would out them down Lord's place. It is wide enough to be pedestrianised and planted on if you want a prettier look.

Keep existing trees.

Slow the traffic flow but do NOT use roundabouts please, best to get rid of them completely. The way Orange drivers react to them is dangerous is not a positive experience for locals or tourists. There needs to be a broader traffic and carparking solution considered especially due to proximity to the train tracks and traffic jams.
Fixing the aesthetic of the area is a great especially towards to civic precinct but there needs to be support for businesses to also update their looks.

Let's look to the next 50 years not to the next 10.

Permeable pavers, lower speed limit, completely shared streets, effective bicycle lanes. Give the power to the mum with the pram and away from the hoon in a RAM truck.

Would like to see several planter boxes or something similar on western side of Lords Place between Summer and Byng Streets to break up the concrete look which will exist when the trees are removed from that side

Overall it's positive that OCC are thinking about the public realm and how we can better use these spaces.

However, given one of the main objectives of Future City is to make Orange more 'walkable,' why are there medians proposed in most of these proposals? Best design practice encourages shared streets and flush, level surfaces which make the street more permeable and accessible for pedestrians. It also creates a more flexible street environment which can be used for events and easily closed off, this was one of the Future City design outcomes for Byng Street between Lords Place and Peisley Street.

Alarmingly, the Lords Place Plan shows two mature trees along Roberston Park 'to be removed', an Elm and a Plane tree. We should question why OCC are continually proposing the removal of mature canopy trees in our city centre? (I refer to the recent proposed removal of the Plane trees along Anson Street verse innovative design solutions to resolve stormwater issues.) Also, why proposed trees do not offer equivalent medium to long term canopy cooling value?

Also, are the proposed trees shown along McNamara Street feasible? Thus one has to ask how realistic are these artistic impressions?

It's fantastic to be moving forward with the principles of the Future City report, however it appears that the idea of increasing walkability is still falling behind the provision of (what has been) standard traffic infrastructure. Planted medians with kerbs will reduce the walkability of both Lords Place and Byng Street - best practice is to plant trees within permeable paving with a flush surface so that pedestrians can move freely throughout, utilising a safe zone in the centre of the street when crossing. More activity throughout the street with pedestrians and bike riders etc cause vehicles to travel slower, making the street safer for everyone. A kerbed median encourages dominance by vehicles, faster speeds and less pedestrian activity.
Tree planting in the centre of streets and along McNamara Street edges will be fantastic, but care should be taken to illustrate the size of the trees realistically.
I'm at a loss to understand why Council is still seeking to remove existing mature trees (in Lords Place) when the community has spoken out so strongly on this topic.

The advice was to improve pathways and I don’t see why only these areas were addresses? What about Sale Streets poor crossing at the lights. I have been caught in the cracks on the road at the pedestrian crossing.
Put yourself in a tourists shoes. The journey from the train station to the Lords Place is okay but not pretty, I would focus on that route first. McNamara Lane is a dodgy lane and I agree needs improving but the shipping container/pop up shop doesn’t sound attractive. There should be murals all over the “Colour City” not just here.
Fixing the street between Byng and Lords is okay but many locals will still need a taxi rank outside Woolworths. Putting one on Summer St will slow the flow of traffic even more than it is now.
Remember the deep gutter on McNamara st can be dangerous for elderly and even those at night. Safety first for tourist and pedestrians, not aesthetics.
It seems that the Byng St area where the specialists, government and the Court are is primarily the upgrade area. And once again the removal of trees!

I support all of the proposed changes, especially changing the streets to one-lane each way, as navigating this area as a pedestrian is extremely difficult and dangerous. That said, I'm not sure a pedestrian crossing on Lords Place is necessary, given there is a signalled crossing nearby on the corner with Summer Street, and it doesn’t appear to connect any high use area to the park. I think the CBD needs a few smaller taxi ranks, rather than 1 large rank on Lords Place/moved to Summer Street. I particularly like the plan for more public furniture and infrastructure, such as lighting, plantings, and seating.

Re: McNamara Street - I fully support these plans, how fortunate would we be to have such great improvements. Improvement to lighting and general atmosphere is very much needed. Recently walked to my car parked there one Saturday night with some teenage girls and it was very uncomfortable and unsafe. Having just come back from Sydney last weekend I appreciate and value these small changes in our community - after witnessing such a rundown Sydney CBD.
Re Lords Place/Byng Street: this area does need improvement in traffic flow and greenery. Such a wide street results in lazy/dangerous drivers. Only issue is needing 2 lanes at Lords/Summer street as turning left and right is frustrating with quick change of lights. Maybe only have the intersection lead up 2 lanes and the rest single lane?
Re Murals: a definite yes to increase murals and art installations right across Orange CBD. The empty shop photo displays are great and I have heard so many positive comments on them.
In reading lots of negative comments online from people who don't agree with the Future City plans, I wonder if they actually understand the intent and that a focus on this doesn't mean Council is not working on other important things like water issues, roads, parking etc etc. I can't wait for the improvements!

As a small business owner (Washington & Co, 243 Summer St) i have several issues with the taxi rank being moved to Summer Street

-Legally once removed/ asked to leave the royal, patrons legally have to move 50m from the venue. The proposed site for the rank is within that. How are these people expected to get taxis if they cant legally be in that area?

- Drunk patrons having to wait on the main street, every friday and saturday night you can see members of the public both vomiting and urinating in the park while waiting for taxis. Im not thrilled about the fact that this will now happen in my entrance way/ door way, you can guarantee this will happen. They will look to hide from other passers by (public or police) and they will definitely do it in the door ways.

- A street sweeper might clean the pavement but i will become responsible for the doorway and under the door.

- Danger to staff. We employee a number of female and younger staff, they will now have to walk through groups of drunk men to get to their cars. For anyone whos visited the taxi rank after midnight will be very aware how how hostile and disgusting that it can be, that alone is extremely unsafe.

- Increased risk to property. With all these groups congregating out the front for long periods then this is bound to happen (physical damage/ urine/ vomit)

- Im not sure if who ever proposed this is fully aware of how violent the taxi rank area actually is, theres literally fights every weekend. Next to the park these groups can spill out into a larger area and the general public can get away from it, if you cram all of these people on to Summer Street, once a fight breaks out people have buildings on one side and the road on the other. Weather its the general public or those fighting, someone will definitely end up on the road, which is dangerous.

I agree with all the new proposals.
Great idea to make Orange a more pedestrian city. Might even encourage residents to leave the car at home. We are much too reliant (lazy) on using our cars for very short trips.
What about a car free annual day in the centre of the city with bands, stalls etc

While I support the proposed changes I feel it would be useful to also show the overarching plan for the Orange CBD to give some context to these designs. This would help understand the proposed changes in light of the broader proposed works in the future and how these fit into the Future City design. I note that the artist impressions include cyclists however I can't see where any dedicated cycling lanes are proposed on the plans provided?

Against all plans - make traffic worse
Waste money planting mature trees when you let so many die last year
Many other things Orange needs inc water supply to meet needs of growing area, more parking at Hospital, another public high school

I think the ideas for McNamara lane are great and very community based. I think changing any double lane to a single lane is crazy. Traffic in the centre of town is already congested far more problematic than any difficulty crossing lords place or byng st.

Extra disabled parking spaces are fantastic and long overdue.

The vegetated median strips are great and will significantly reduce the heat island effect.
How will the roads be designed? Will the median strip be lower than the road surface to collect rainfall for watering the media strip vegetation?

Surely the two trees on the eastern side of Lords Place could be kept - utilising modern branch and root pruning methods to ensure their survival longer term?

Byng Street and Lords place are already congested cutting these very busy streets back to single largest will only make them bith bottle hecks, moving the Taxi rank to Summer street will remove parking spaces which are already very limited, what happens when there is a function in macnamara lane not enough parking already down that end of summer street , please let's keep our beautuful wide streets, surely it would be less expensive to install pedestrian crossings !! If that is indeed the problem, Orange has an ageing community and close parking to the CBD is so very necessary as is easy driving access ,
Murals around town will be nice but PLEASE get the walkway near Kathmandu cleaned up its an absolute disgrace, taking my friends from Adelaide through there was an embarrassment with the filth that adorns the walls.
This is such a beautuful city why spoil it closing off its wide streets and creating traffic chaos in other already busy streets .

1. The car park behind the Hotel Canobolas is always very busy. Why cant markets be located in the area of the disused netball courts in Anson St, opp Orange Infants School. It would seem a much better use of the space.
2. The roundabout at Byng St and Lords Place is a major intersection. Would the reduction in lanes not have flow on effects at the roundabouts on Byng and Peisley as well as Byng and Anson Sts. What is to be gained here.
3. Streamlining traffic along Lords Place makes sense. Just don’t put down too much concrete and not too many painted lines on the road. It is confusing and messy, eg Moulder St.

I am glad Orange City Council will put murals on walls. It will pretty up blank walls in back lanes and provide ambient spaces for buskers or outdoor musicians which will be useful to increase music culture of Orange. Orange is a cultural city so this is a good move to increase culture on the streets. Why not consider putting poetry on the walls as well as paintings? In Seattle they have poetry on their inner city walls and it is quite inspiring. Of course busking permits will need to be easy and affordable to get so people can't hog the spots or or have people complaining that what they are doing is illegal and try to move them on. Live music adds life to the city and builds community vibe. The new street lights look very modern and sleek which is an improvement on drab ones today. That will modernise streets. The markets in McNamara St look very good and will add life on weekends and let small traders grow and business increase encouraging diversity rather than just the big chains and established shops. There needs to be adequate parking nearby so there is less traffic congestion for markets. Perhaps signs showing [P 200 parking spots =>] etc will be mounted nearby so people can easily find adequate parking for the markets. Hopefully parking for markets will be free or cheap for all day parking on weekend and little or no parking fines issued. Having a glamorous roundabout on corner of Lords Place and Byng Street is very trendy and will increase beauty of Orange plus make it easier to cross as pedestrian as traffic will not be able to zoom through but have to slow down. I hope there are no accidents in roundabout as sometimes drivers follow arrows on road the wrong way (turn left or go straight ahead in left lane or go straight ahead in right lane) and have sideswipes or accidents on roundabout due to poor skills or vision of each other. If roundabout fails due to increase of accidents, lights may have to be reinstated. Orange drivers are quite aggressive and impatient so roundabout may be a failure and lights may be safer. Having trees down median strip on Lords Place will beautify the street which is good. Improving parking bays with pavers and trees will make the traffic slower as less lanes and also make it easier to park. It will make it safer for pedestrians and bicycles having narrower inner city streets and stop dangerous fast traffic passing through and slow down traffic which is good.