Orange's Central Business District will have its speed limit dropped with drivers encouraged to "choose other routes".
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Orange City Council confirmed the area bordered by Peisley, Kite, Hill and Byng streets will become a "high pedestrian activity area".
It will result in the speed limit dropping to 40km/h inside this zone, in line with Transport for NSW regulations.
The current speed limit in this zone is 50km/h with one section of Anson Street, between Summer and Kite Street opposite Woolworths, already 40km/h
Mayor Jason Hamling said it was the latest step in a bid to make the CBD more "pedestrian-friendly", citing the Lords Place South FutureCity revamp as an example of a more walkable space in the city.
![All streets within the Orange CBD are set to adopt a 40km/h speed limit. Picture by Carla Freedman All streets within the Orange CBD are set to adopt a 40km/h speed limit. Picture by Carla Freedman](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131358433/d0c2a9bb-bf85-4a63-8cec-42f7dfbeb5c3.JPG/r0_0_8256_5504_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"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," he 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."
Starting next week, a textured and coloured asphalt surface will be heat stamped onto roads in 14 different locations serving as entrances to the CBD.
It will be followed by traffic signs later in the year, when the new speed limit will begin to be enforced.
Council said the move follows community consultation in 2020 and has the support of the Orange Business Chamber.
Results from the 'YourSay Orange' survey showed that 54 per cent of respondents opposed the change to 40km/h.
Traffic committee chair and councillor Tony Mileto said it would make the CBD safer.
"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," he 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 have experienced almost double the reduction in casualty crashes compared to other urban roads over the last 20 years."
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