AN ongoing traffic study will be key in addressing transport infrastructure needs into the future.
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Bathurst Regional Council has been working with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) for months to carry out the study, beginning with traffic counts.
They were used to build a model of traffic patterns and, after superimposing population projections, the model tries to predict how people will drive around in the future.
Various improvement options are then put into the model and tested for their effectiveness. The results will offer council advice for future planning.
Councillors have previously spoken about the need for roads infrastructure to catch up with the city's growth.
Director of Environmental Planning and Building Services, Neil Southorn, said residents have also given feedback that has identified "hot spots" for congestion.
"People are rightly saying that council has to address those concerns in a timely way," he said.
"From Kelso and Eglinton, both sides of town, there are limited options, so we need to look at more options. And in the case of Kelso, if there's a big flood, then it makes life difficult for everybody."
Mr Southorn said council has always had to prioritise its projects and that would continue to be the case moving forward as it tries to "get the balance right".
"It would be a big step for council to build all of the infrastructure in advance of when the population starts to need it," he said.
"It needs big budgets in order to build all of the necessary infrastructure in advance."
The traffic study is expected to conclude in the coming months, with the modelling almost complete and options testing progressing.
Mr Southorn said that, importantly, council wanted to avoid a situation where it fixes a traffic problem in one place and inadvertently creates another issue elsewhere.
"The study is testing a range of options and it will give council advice on which of the options is the best to progress with," he said.
