News

GOOD SHOW: Orange City Councillor Jason Hamling, Troy Campbell of Stratco, Councillor Ron Gander, Mayor John Davis, RENWELD Chairman Tim Lockrey and RENWELD treasurer Phillip Bird.

Orange is becoming a more pedestrian-friendly city with the installation of a new series of pedestrian platforms and refuge islands in local streets.

City of Orange Traffic Committee Chair Cr Russell Turner said the new structures are being built at nine intersections across the city.

Of the nine, six were fully funded through the federal government's National Black Spot program and were identified using crash history data.

He said the structures were designed to make it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross the road because it reduces the distance they need to travel between footpaths and the platforms slow traffic.

"The platforms are designed to reduce the distance between each footpath making it easier for people, such as the elderly and those with prams to cross the road safely," Cr Turner said.

"Many of Orange’s older streets were built with a width that would allow bullock drays to turn around. These streets are now up to eight metres wider than what’s needed for modern traffic.

"Before these structure were built, drivers could cut the corner in a wide arch, meaning they could be driving in the opposite lane for a much longer distance."

With these structures, there’s a narrower gap for turning cars to drive through and cars are unable to cut corners.

"So while it’s a change drivers will take time to get used to, it’s designed so that they will both travel through the intersections more slowly and they can’t cut corners. It makes the roads safer for everyone," Cr Turner said.

The platforms include sloping ramps to make it easier for elderly pedestrians or people in wheelchairs to access the road.

‘Give Way’ signs are also being installed on the platforms and pedestrian islands on cross streets.

"Because the Give Way signs can be positioned further out into the road-way than the corner previously, this improves the visibility of the drivers to see past trees and parked cars," he said.

Work on new pedestrian platforms at six intersections, including the corner of March and Sale Street, were chosen because of crash history data and funded through the Federal Government’s National Blackspot Program.

These sites include :

• March Street and Sale Street
• Prince Street and Clinton Street
• Warrendine Street and Sale Street
• Dalton Street and Spring Street
• Coronation Drive and Frost Street
• Moulder Street and Sale Street (adding to existing traffic measures on site)

These projects are funded 100% by the Blackspot program.

A number of other intersections were identified by Orange City Council’s Pedestrian and Mobility Plan and some are funded partly by the NSW Government by Roads and Maritime Services.

The total value of the work on these nine intersections is around $750,000.

It's not just babies and toddlers who accidentally contribute to pool closures at the Orange Aquatic Centre, it's often children who have been toilet-trained for years, according to pool manager Beth Shea.

The staff at the centre share the frustration of customers when the pool must be temporarily closed because of contamination and the team is actively trying to combat these issues.

Ms Shea said children who were otherwise toilet-trained were the focus of new signage at the pool designed to encourage parents and carers to take their young children to the toilet before, and shortly after getting into the water.

"While the parents and carers of these older age-groups believe their children are toilet-trained, we’re now focusing on getting some key messages across," she said.

"Parents of all children are being encouraged to take their children to the toilet before they start swimming, and then after about 15 minutes getting their children out of the pool for another toilet break. And then further toilet breaks as part of the day-at-the-pool routine.

"Please consider that even a toilet trained child who is having a great time playing in the pool with friends might miss some of the toileting cues they would normally pick up in another environment.

"Even the smallest level of contamination results in the same level of response from staff, and considerable additional processes overnight."

The Aquatic Centre delivers water quality in line with standards set by state health authorities and a short-term closure, while inconvenient, is the price of meeting these water quality standards, she said.

The standards can be read here.

"Any problem like this demands a multi-level approach to finding solutions. Staff have been exploring a number of different approaches," Ms Shea said.

"While insisting that babies and toddlers wear waterproof swimming nappies, and providing these nappies to families who might have come without is part of the solution, it’s also a distraction from what’s turning out to be a much broader issue."

In order to comply with new NSW government legislation, Orange City Council is introducing this new ‘Related Parties’ policy.

This policy establishes a system so that any financial transactions handled by the council’s key management personnel (and anyone in their extended family who could influence them in their dealings with the council) can be declared and then assessed.

In the preparation of the annual Financial Statements, these transactions would be assessed to determine the required level of disclosure.

Key Management Personnel are people who are responsible for planning, directing and controlling the Council. This would include :

• Councillors
• Administrators
• General Manager
• Directors

Close family members of the key management personnel are those family members who may be expected to influence, or be influenced by, that person in their dealings with the Council, and include:

• that person’s children
• that person’s spouse/domestic partner
• children of that person’s spouse/domestic partner
• dependants of that person or that person’s spouse/domestic partner.
• that person’s brothers and sisters
• that person’s spouse/domestic partner’s brothers and sisters
• aunts, uncles, and cousins of that person’s or that person’s spouse/domestic partner
• dependants of those person’s or that person’s spouse/domestic partner
• that person's or that person's spouse/domestic partners', parents and grandparents.

Relationships with key personnel

Related Party relationships are a normal feature of commerce and business.

A Related Party relationship could influence the normal business operations of Council even if Related Party Transactions do not occur.

The mere existence of the relationship may be sufficient to affect the transactions of the Council with other parties.

The new policy includes deadlines when disclosure would have to be made using standard disclosure forms.

More information can be found by downloading the policy here.

While the new policy is on exhibition for community comment, Orange City Council cannot change the requirements of the policy which are determined by statement legislation.

The deadline for community comments is Friday 3 February 2017.