It is not one simple quick-fix.
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![High Street slowdown has plenty of merit High Street slowdown has plenty of merit](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zTpV5j6X6iLmSh5SbcmSaP/39198d4e-bb0e-44b1-a934-7764b4801083.jpg/r1767_452_3775_3013_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Many might think they have the panacea for fixing all that is not quite right with Wodonga’s central business district.
That’s normal in any democratic society. People have an opinion and, thankfully, they usually get the opportunity to express that opinion.
For the Wodonga Council, the centre of town has been a long-running project.
It is an exceedingly complicated process because of the host of competing interests and priorities.
As much as the removal of the Wodonga railway line from the centre of town has been a boon for the city, it has also created more problems.
So much of the planning for the centre of town landed in the lap of Places Victoria, which in turn has had to develop a close working relationship with the council.
It has been a delicate balancing act that will continue for some time to come.
Now into all that has come a proposal from the council to trial a 20km/h speed zone in High Street.
The thinking is that this would make the area a far more pedestrian-friendly place to be for the stretch from Sesame Street south to the pedestrian traffic lights, near the post office.
And it is not as if the council has gone in blindly with the idea.
As planning and infrastructure director Leon Schultz says, the council has listened closely to the feedback it got through its temporary High Street shop.
It is easy to see the benefits of such a move.
After all, that stretch already had a 40km/h speed limit. More often than that, any motorist conscious of safety in such a busy area would travel even slower.
It is an idea well worth exploring further, and there could be no better way to do that than to run a trial to see if it is actually feasible.
The council is clearly doing things the right way, making sure the idea is properly tested through a trial that would still require the approval of VicRoads.
A lot of money is being spent on the CBD upgrade given the total project cost is put at $20.8 million.
It’s vitally important then that every dollar is spent wisely.
The council should be congratulated on deciding to, again, listen to what residents think.