'Not pedestrian friendly in any way': Dubbo residents want more footpaths and crossings

People with disabilities, adults without driver's licenses, and mothers with prams are facing difficulties with travel.

They say more pedestrian crossings, wider and consistent footpaths, would make it safer for people to walk to places.

Dubbo is especially tough to get around for Annette Ferguson who does not drive. Ms Ferguson is legally blind and relies on her guide dog to go everywhere. She says while Dubbo Regional Council has put in some good paths, they are not uniform throughout the city.

"It's not consistent enough," she said.

Ms Ferguson also said she needed more smooth cement footpaths because many were uneven and rough.

"We just need them to be smooth and wide. Sometimes my guide dog and I don't fit on the footpaths," Ms Ferguson said.

She said footpaths should have enough space to let pedestrians walking in both directions pass comfortably.

A statement from council said it followed a standard footpath width of 1.5 metres, and a 2.5 metre width for footpaths shared with cyclists.

However, recommendations from a leading non-profit organisation that provides information and mobility services to people who are vision impaired, disagrees. Guide Dogs NSW suggests the minimum accessible area of footpaths should be closer to two metres wide. They also ask for a clear separation in footpaths for pedestrians and cyclists which should be marked by tactile ground surface indicators (TGSIs), devices used by vision impaired people to determine orientation.

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Additionally, Ms Ferguson finds roundabouts are a serious challenge to her mobility.

"Walking across roundabouts is horrendous in Dubbo... just not crossable," Ms Ferguson said. "I need things to be accessible... you can't tell when people are coming off roundabouts or not."

Roundabouts on Fitzroy and Wingewarra street, and on Erskine and Darling street are especially difficult for her to traverse.

Another resident Kris Stevens said Dubbo was "not pedestrian friendly in any way". She said major highways passing through the city, like the Mitchell Highway/Cobra Street, need more traffic lights. Wheelers Lane and Sheraton Road are also on her list of difficult roads to cross.

"There are four lanes to cross... it's very divisive," Ms Stevens said.

"What would make Dubbo more walkable, pedestrian crossings and footpaths that will allow people to get around without tripping over and breaking their neck."

Ms Stevens said she was passionate about having more pedestrian crossings, more cycleways, and making it safer for people with disabilities to get around her town.

Transport provider, Tsukasa Hiraoka, ferries people without cars to their workplaces and appointments. She said Orana Mall was tough to reach by foot and had often seen people struggling to cross the road.

Ms Hiraoka also said no car-streets and public squares could make Dubbo more walkable.

"Walkable cities attract visitors and also create feelings of both community and safety," she said.

Not everyone has a driver's license, and some mothers in Dubbo rely on footpaths to step out of the house for a stroll with their children.

Mother of two Neelam Rani, has lived in Dubbo for the last six years.

"I like Dubbo, it's a good place to live," she said.

Mrs Rani lived in the Central Business District before moving to Southlakes. She said the area near her new residence does not have footpaths and is not safe for mothers with prams or kids to be walking on the road.

"There's no footpath and kids tend to run out into the street," she said.

Mrs Rani said she observed that only main streets had footpaths, and that some footpaths only existed on one side of the street. During strolls, people in her neighbourhood walk closer to the curb on roads, so she and her family do the same.

"It's difficult, but I keep the kids inside most of the time," she said. "I think I would get out more if there were footpaths here. But people say it's unusual to have footpaths in this area and footpaths are only made for the main road."

The Daily Liberal reached out to council for comment on the pedestrian safety issues raised by residents.

"When constructing footpaths, council staff adhere to the regulations and standards that are applicable at the time," Chris Godfrey, council's manager of infrastructure, strategy and design, said.

He said they had followed Australian Standard 1428.1 (for footpaths and ramps) and 1428.4.4 (for TGSIs) developed by non-governmental organisation Standards Australia.

Mr Godfrey did not comment on the issue of pedestrian crossings and inconsistency of footpaths at the time of publication.

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