Orange City Council is seeking feedback about what the community thinks about a proposal to reduce the CBD speed limit to 40km/h.
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The proposal would reduce the speed limit from 50km/h within an area bordered from Hill Street to Peisley Street and Byng Street to Kite Street.
Anyone who would like to have a say on the proposed speed limit review should register with Orange City Council's YourSay website and participate in the survey by December 2.
The council will provide the community feedback to Transport for NSW as part of the council's request for the state-government roads authority to review the CBD speed limit.
Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said Transport for NSW regulate speed limits for all roads in NSW so the council cannot change the speed limit and the final decision is up to Transport for NSW.
"Council is very interested to hear from all sections of the community, from pedestrians, to cyclists, to business owners, people with disabilities and of course, drivers," Cr Kidd said.
Cr Kidd said the council also sought the support of the Orange Business Chamber for the proposed speed reduction review.
Council is very interested to hear from all sections of the community, from pedestrians, to cyclists, to business owners, people with disabilities and of course, drivers.
- Mayor Reg Kidd
City of Orange Traffic Committee chairman Cr Russell Turner said the committee reviewed crash data for the area and current actual speeds motorists travel through the CBD.
"Between 2014 and 2019, there were 20 crashes involving pedestrians in the city," Cr Turner said.
"Of those crashes, nine resulted in a serious injury, two people died. Nineteen of those crashes were in a 50 km/zone and one was in a 40 km/h zone and that person had a minor injury."
"Studies show when reducing the speed of vehicles from 50km/h to 40km/h in a pedestrian and motor vehicle crash, the risk of having a pedestrian death is reduced from 60 per cent to 25 per cent."
The proposal is part of the council's Future City plans, which aims to make the CBD more walkable. It aims to attract more people to the CBD and increase the number of people living and working in the CBD.
Other ways to achieve a more walkable CBD that are also being considered include scramble crossings, more cycle paths and footpaths and better lighting.
In the other direction, the average speed is 47.2 km/h. The highest average speed in the CBD occurs on Sale Street, from Summer Street to Byng Street where motorists average 47.5 km/h.
Vehicles travelling along Summer Street from Hill Street to Peisley Street under a 40 km/h speed limit, would, on average, take an extra 7.87 seconds to complete the journey.
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