LITHGOW Council does not always have the best reputation in this region.
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From the outside looking in, for years it has looked like a council riven by internal political disputes and focused more on itself than its community.
But the council may at last have found for itself a platform that could win widespread support across the Central West.
The question of speed limits on the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains is one that could galvanise the entire motoring community.
As it stands, there are literally dozens of speed changes in the 80km stretch from Lithgow to Lapstone before motorists finally reach the M4 Motorway.
The constant changes mean drivers must always have one eye on the odometer and another on the side of the road looking for the next speed sign.
Even drivers who regularly use the highway can never be 100 per cent certain what the speed limit is at any given time. Those who drive it only occasionally have no chance.
This cannot be good for drivers’ attention on the road and the ultimate safety of all road users.
Using cruise control is not an option so drivers must constantly be looking up and down. There must be a better way – at least, that’s what Lithgow Council has decided.
Last week it was first former mayor Maree Statham who called on the council to lobby Roads and Maritime Services about reinstating a 90km/h speed limit on a two kilometre section of road near the Forty Bends upgrade, now that work has been completed.
But current mayor Stephen Lesslie went further, saying council should lobby RMS for a review of speed limits along the entire 80km Blue Mountains stretch.
That may have been a motion prompted by political one-upmanship – Cr Lesslie did, after all, defeat Cr Statham for the mayoral position and there is apparently no love lost between the two – but it’s one that is sure to be popular both inside and outside the Lithgow Council boundaries.
It is also an issue that surrounding councils, including Bathurst, should investigate.
Sorting out the highway mess would benefit Bathurst residents as much as anyone, easing the stress and risk of a simple trip to Sydney.
Here’s a rare chance for Bathurst to follow the lead of Lithgow.