Part of the Future City program to make Orange's central business district more pedestrian friendly, the roundabout is being converted to single lane in-and-out to streamline traffic at the intersection.

Not everyone is happy about it - social media has been rife with comments on the work but Orange City Council's Technical Services Director Ian Greenham said traffic would flow smoothly when the roundabout, and work in Lords Place and Byng Street leading into it, was completed.

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Under Future City, Robertson Park will become the centre for pedestrian activity coming from the Court House, the main street and the growing Civic Centre precinct where extensions to the Regional Gallery are nearing completion. The proposed planetarium and regional conservatorium will add more foot traffic to the area.

Mr Greenham said studies show that despite the reduction in lanes, traffic flow won't be affected and Council was not looking to divert it to other streets.

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"It also takes away that conflict with some roundabouts - some are two in two out, some two in one out... it just takes the confusion out of it."

Pedestrian crossings would be added mid-block on Lords and Byng from Robertson Park.

Contractors started resurfacing Lords place this week and Mr Greenham said covering the previous line markings would make things clearer for drivers. He added several roundabouts had been reduced to one lane including March and Hill, with a positive impact.

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Council approved the Future City work in March this year. In fact, since the beginning of its tenure in 2017, the outgoing council has overseen $17.1m in major road upgrades and $3.7m in reseals for about 30km of asphalt and sprayed road surfacing. Around 8.6km of footpaths have been built at a cost of $1.3m, while around 9.1km have been upgraded to concrete at a cost of $1.35m.

New roads and infrastructure include the roundabout on the Northern Distributor Road, Hill Street and William Maker Drive ($5.1m), the Southern Feeder Road (including a bridge over the railway line) at $18.6m.

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