THE Chandos Street storm seems to have taken everyone by surprise.
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One woman at the peaceful protest yesterday said in 60 years in Gunnedah, she had never seen such a divide between the council and the community.
There was a sense of bewilderment between people who are more likely to be enjoying a cuppa together than standing on a town street corner at 6am protesting the part closure of a street.
How did it get to this point?
The critical moment for most people who were unhappy with council’s decision to move the Visitors Information Centre, but prepared to take it no further, seems to be when they woke to find Chandos Street closed.
Council’s advertisement noted “blister works” were taking place, but a few further questions revealed the block was going to become one-way.
The Jenny Rand & Associates report into relocation of the Visitor Information Centre stated on page 63 that traffic and parking would need to be changed in Chandos Street.
It also noted earlier in the report: “A location in the Civic –Wolseley Park precinct is ideal provided that provision can be made for parking of long rigs safely and easily close to the VIC.”
Interestingly, it also stated changed traffic and parking arrangements could see a “potential backlash” from the community and the tennis club.
It listed three options that had been proposed by council’s own engineering and planning sections, each of them making Chandos Street one way (north-bound) between Conadilly and Little Conadilly streets.
Council is advising it chose the cheapest option at $65,000, although this choice was not discussed in council meetings as part of the Visitor Information Centre debate.
It is perfectly true that this move was included in the VIC report which went out for public comment, but it would be disingenuous to believe that even if people had read the full report, they would realise this would immediately follow on with no further discussion.
Even some councillors have said they did not know the changes to Chandos Street were automatically approved with the decision to move the VIC.
Changes to the street go beyond even the intense interest in the Visitor Information Centre. They impact on people who had not taken an active interest in the VIC debate and had not read the Jenny Rand & Associates report.
This move might only change the traffic configuration of one block, but it has also eroded part of the community’s faith in their council. People may never look at “blister works” in quite the same way again.