ABANDONED netball courts at Moulder Park might hold the key for the education of young cyclists, pending support from Orange City Council on Tuesday night.
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Mayor Reg Kidd will put forward a motion to investigate developing a so-called playmat on the site.
It would include a network of roads, crossings, stop signs
Cr Kidd said the idea came from Jill Bale of Roundabout Central West.
"It's a great use for it, rather than just sitting there," he said.
"The netball courts and infrastructure are deteriorating since they were abandoned."
Mrs Bale said she had lived in Orange for more than 40 years and drove past the site regularly.
"I thought why not beautify it so it can be used for educational purposes?" she said.
Ray Dally, who has helped to run skills classes for children at Moulder Park, supported the idea.
"It's a great skill to have - kids have to learn traffic signs and markings on the road, that's so important for road safety" he said.
"They need to be able to stop at that line and that's hard."
Cr Kidd, who previously supported the idea of transforming the courts into an all-day car park, said there were other parking options available.
"I still believe there's potential in Orange for a multistorey car park, whether that's the Ophir car park, because we own that," he said.
Staff responded to the request, saying the council applied for state government funding recently, with the cost estimated at almost $25,000, including simulated traffic equipment, but unsuccessfully.
However, Mrs Bale said Roundabout was only seeking permission from the council to proceed and was not necessarily seeking funds.
"We want businesses to come and support it," she said.
She said because gatherings would be required to do the work, the project would have to wait until after coronavirus restrictions lifted.
"We'd like to have this ready to go," she said.
Roundabout Central West works under the umbrella of the Rotary Club of Orange but works on its own projects.
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