Council's split decision after petition against Corryong CBD works

At an extraordinary council meeting on Wednesday, January 10, councillors voted 3-2 in favour of a motion to continue the project with no structural design changes, but rather a slight adjustment to line marking to allow more space for parked vehicles.

Councillor Aaron Scales put the motion forward, which thanked the more than 160 signatories to the petition, that suggested a manoeuvring space at the rear of parking bays be delineated by line marking them to a lateral depth of 4.8 metres, along with a reduction of the speed limit to 40kmh between the roundabouts on Donaldson and Jardine streets.

He also called for a plan to be developed to increase the number of parking spaces in the central business district.

Deputy mayor Denise Anderson and Cr David Wortmann supported Cr Scales' motion, with mayor Andrew Whitehead and Cr Peter Dikschei opposed.

"We have identified that we can reduce the risk with parking by making some minor changes to line marking around that, which will therefore not have a cost impact to the ratepayer," Cr Scales said.

"With the parking bay being delineated at 4.8 metres, you can still get a 5.4-metre car parked in that zone and you will of course have a buffer zone behind that.

"This project has resulted in a reduction of car parking spaces and we have heard from the community that they do want more, but they also want wider car spaces."

The petition, which was presented to councillors at the December 20 meeting, stated: "We the undersigned are concerned about Towong Shire's proposed widening of the footpath in Hanson Street CBD. This will restrict the space available to access parked vehicles and to manoeuvre vehicles into and out of parking spaces. We regard this situation as unsafe. The footpaths are already inadequate and the gutters should be retained at the original 3.9-metre distance from the shopfronts."

Councillors agreed it was disappointing a petition against the design came about after construction had begun and it was important not to set a precedent for major alterations in the middle of projects.

"Unfortunately, this project maybe hasn't captured the imagination of the community like some projects do when they're first instigated," Cr Dikschei said.

"I do find myself a little conflicted with this motion given that a significant number of people participated in the design and consultation process, but we now have this petition which has raised some other valid concerns.

"I feel that if we can get to a better result, even by taking a step back and looking at the design and looking at some extra features, then maybe that is the way to go.

"I think there's possibly an opportunity to get a better result for the community for now and into the future if we have a look at some other options."

The council's infrastructure and environment department confirmed there would be a cost to council to go ahead with a redesign, but did not specify an estimated figure or the time required to undertake it.

It is expected the Corryong CBD project will be finished by the end of June 2024.