Orange City Council has caved to community pressure regarding the"dangerous" Lords Place street paintings.
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Pedestrians raised concerned over the sections of road and footpath that had been painted green saying the paint made it difficult to see the gutter and it was a fall and trip hazard for those with limited vision.
A council spokesman said that prior to the painting both the footpath, top of kerb and base of kerb was all in plain grey concrete. However, he conceded that also painting the road the same colour as the footpath created a problem for some people.
"We have recognised that following painting of the road as well as the footpath that the transition has been visually blurred and have programmed to have the top of kerb painted white to highlight the transition within the next fortnight," the spokesman said.
The Lords Place footpath between Summer and Kite streets was mentioned when the Central Western Daily put a call out to residents about footpaths they considered the worst.
Another busy CBD section that was mentioned was Anson Street near Woolworths all the way down to the corner where tree roots have raised the concrete and grown into the drain causing it to flood during heavy rain.
However there are plenty of other footpaths in Orange that have caused concern and Malcolm Stacey said he's been contacting the council for years about the absence of a footpath in March Street outside Dudley Hospital.
"There isn't a formed concrete footpath to provide access for patients, visitors or staff who each week day need to park on March Street because of limited on site parking," Mr Stacey said.
"I've written to Orange City Council about the lack of footpaths here since 2020.
"They reply that they have a list of footpaths needing attention but footpaths along March Street at Dudley Hospital aren't on their list."
Mr Stacey said March Street is steep and busy with traffic in both directions.
"On the side closest to the hospital the footpath is rough grass, with lots of uneven patches, and slopes steeply to the kerb. When wet it is muddy and slippery, and too steep to walk on. On the opposite side the footpath is rough, and a mix grass, gravel and stone," he said.
"At peak times on weekdays it is not uncommon to find cars parked well down March Street beyond Wolsley Street, and up the hill on Winter Street, and people walking and pushing walkers on the road itself, being forced to negotiate traffic in both directions."
The old bitumen path down the north side of Moulder St between Sale and Anson streets was named with a reader saying it "is literally falling apart".
Another resident said they have difficulty walking on broken footpaths on Prince Street, particularly between Hill and Clinton streets.
The resident, Doreen Flood said white paint in some instances identify the risk but don't help with the problem.
"Last year when walking in that area I tripped on a broken section and was badly injured including a dislocated shoulder, cracked collar bone and laceration to my forehead," she said.
"Warrendine Street in front of the Cardiology Clinic is badly broken and sprayed with paint. For older people like myself and my husband the footpaths are an accident waiting to happen."
There have been complaints that wheelchairs and prams can't be used on a section of Byng Street in front Dr Howe's surgery. This section has been slated for repair. A section of March Street near Dr Barnes' surgery is in a similar condition.
In East Orange there were complaints about the footpath conditions in Dora Street and Summer Street east as well as Part of Bathurst Road
Residents in parts of Hill and Sampson streets said they didn't have a footpath on either side of the road.
There were also two complaints each about the footpath next to Duntryleague on The Escort Way and Maxwell Avenue and the lane that runs from Maxwell Avenue to Trobruk Crescent.
Another person has called for the Ploughmans Lane footpath to be extended from the cricket oval to Coronation Drive and others have listed the entire CBD as a problem, including the paved areas of Summer Street where loose pavers have been deemed dangerous for people using mobility aides.
The council has allocated $708, 000 up from $408,000 for footpath works in the 2023/24 budget.
Where footpath works are taking place:
- William Street (Terminating path at Betta Electrical to March - west side)
- Lucknow Footpath (Mitchell Bus Stop to Beasley)
- Molong Road (Mastronardi to Northern Distributor Road - east side)
- Adina Crescent (Betula to Lone Pine - North Side)
- Northern Distributor Road shared path - (Hill to Telopea - south side)
- Byng Streeet (Anson Street to Sale Street - south)
Potential 2023/24 footpath works:
- Sale St (Dalton to Prince - eastern side)
- Byng St (Nile to Autumn - northern side)
- Summer St (Hill to Clinton - northern side)
- Anson St (Chestnut to Mitchell - western side)
- Peisley St (Kite to Moulder - eastern side)
- March Street (Seymour to Winter - northern side)
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