Orange City Council is taking the next steps in the transition of the Orange CBD into a High Pedestrian Activity Area.
Beginning next week, a textured and coloured asphalt surface will be heat-stamped onto the roadway at 14 entrances to the greater CBD, bounded by Peisley, Kite, Hill and Byng streets. It's expected to take around two weeks to complete the work.
Once these stamps are in place, before the end of the year, new signs will be added telling drivers they are entering a High Pedestrian Activity Area.
Orange Mayor Jason Hamling says there'll be plenty of time for drivers to get used to the new zone.
STENCIL: Paving-style designs will be stamped onto the road surface, at entrances to the Orange CBD, to alert drivers that they're moving into an area where pedestrian activity is busier. (CLICK TO SEE LARGER IMAGE)
"For a number of years, the Orange CBD has been transitioning from a traffic-focused place to a pedestrian-focused place. These changes are the next steps in that trend," Cr Jason Hamling said.
"The focus on becoming more pedestrian-friendly has been a key element of the FutureCity design upgrades in the CBD."
"Our CBD is becoming a destination residents travel to and spend time in, not a route for through-traffic. In the same way that building the northern bypass successfully took cattle trucks out of the centre of town, this change will gradually encourage local commuters to choose other routes such as Moulder and March streets to avoid the CBD, creating an even more pedestrian-friendly zone."
High Pedestrian Activity Areas already exist in many metropolitan and regional centres throughout the state. They are a successful way of making town centres more attractive and becoming places to spend more time.
Parkes is one of dozens of towns and suburbs across NSW which has made their CBD a High Pedestrian Activity Area. Others include Mudgee, Pennant Hills, Katoomba, Artarmon, North Sydney, Taree, Forster, Belmore, Paddington and Oatlands.
After a community consultation, in December 2020, Council asked Transport for NSW to consider lowering the speed limit in the CBD. The Orange Business Chamber supported the change, based on pedestrian safety and making the CBD more walkable. This project has the approval of, and is completely funded by, Transport for NSW.
Under Transport for NSW regulations, the switch to a High Pedestrian Activity Area requires a 40km/h limit, but the new speed limit will not come into force until later this year when signs are installed.
City of Orange Traffic Committee Chair Cr Tony Mileto said the new zone will be safer for both drivers and pedestrians.
"Drivers will feel a small vibration as they drive over the new surface. It's a reminder to drive at a speed that matches a zone where there's more pedestrian activity than usual," Cr Tony Mileto said,
"This change is about making our main shopping area more pedestrian-friendly but the research is clear that it also makes it safer."
"Transport for NSW research shows that roads with High Pedestrian Activity Area HPAAs have experienced almost double the reduction in casualty crashes compared to other urban roads over the last twenty years."
TACTILE: The hot mix road surface is heated and softened before a paving-style stencil is stamped into the road surface.
