Road work ahead: Council approves slew of recommendations for city streets

One of the final acts of Tamworth Regional Council in 2023 is the recent approval of a backlog of recommendations designed to improve the city's roads.

Councillors approved more than a dozen recommendations from the local traffic committee at their December meeting.

From safety upgrades to parking spots, here's a breakdown of road works inbound for early 2024.

Some of the biggest works aim to address safety concerns on North Street.

First up is installing new pedestrian infrastructure on the road's intersections with Bligh Street and Janison Street, building kerb blisters, pedestrian medians, and raised pavement markers.

The second aims to improve traffic flow on North Street's intersections with Janison Street, Darling Street and Napier Street.

Nearby residents have told council these intersections are confusing to motorists not familiar with the area, leading to mistakes like dangerous last-minute turns or driving the wrong way up a one-way street.

Council aims to improve on these issues by painting new line markings and installing signs to make the busy intersections easier to navigate.

The pedestrian infrastructure will be funded by the state government while the signs and line marking will come out of council's budget.

An ongoing project to make Tamworth more walk-and-bike-friendly is expanding to the outskirts of town with new pathways designed for Forrest Road, Moore Creek, and Calala.

Councillors voted to support plans for the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways - so long as the state government agrees to pay for it.

The Forrest Road and Moore Creek pathways will connect the Tamworth Mountain Bike Park, McCarthy Catholic College, and Calrossy Anglican School to existing walking and cycling tracks.

When voting to approve the new pathways, councillor Phil Betts called the Moore Creek track a "great news story" for students and staff at Calrossy Anglican School, who have been advocating for the pathway for some time.

Meanwhile, down south, residents in Calala are set to have an easier time to walk through the fast-growing suburb.

Subject to funding from the state government, a shared pathway on Calala Lane from Boronia Drive to Darrell Road could start construction in 2024.

The pathway would connect fast-developing areas on the edge of the suburb all the way to the area's main food venue, Calala Inn, and Carlo's IGA supermarket.

Council is also continuing to investigate the possibility of building a 3.7-kilometre walking and cycling path connecting Calala to the Tamworth CBD via Campbell Road and King George V Avenue.

The owners of the Tamworth City Bowling Club will be happy to know their application to improve parking on Napier Street has been successful.

Similar to a recent project on Marius Street, councillors voted to move ahead with a plan to paint new lines to "formalise" 22 parking spaces in the area in front of the club near Anzac Park.

The new lines are expected to "compress" the number of cars parked on Napier Street and ultimately free up more spaces.

The Tamworth City Bowling Club agreed to fund the new line marking.

Speaking of parking in East Tamworth, residents on the Murray Street Service Road cul-de-sacs have won a bid to restrict parking on their road to locals only.

The service roads above Murray Street are often used mistakenly by motorists trying to get to the roundabout on Marius and Murray streets, according to residents.

Council will install "Local Traffic Only" signs and No Stopping areas on both Murray Street service roads to reduce congestion for residents.