TALK this week of the Bathurst CBD running the risk of becoming a "ghost town" will no doubt have been dismissed by some as scaremongering.
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Yes, there are a number of empty businesses around the centre of the city, but we haven't yet reached the point where tumbleweeds are rolling around.
Anyone who's had the misfortune of being caught up in the morning or afternoon school pick-up congestion or has been part of the heaving crowds for recent Bathurst Winter Festivals or for the SuperFest Wiggles concert will be able to attest to that.
It's human nature that a recently closed business will stick in the mind in a way that a recently opened business will not.
And Bathurst does seem to be a city where big ideas struggle to make the leap from artist's impression to sod-turning, which certainly contributes to a sense of pessimism when talk turns to our CBD.
There was a time, relatively recently, when serviced apartments were soon to burst from the ground at the former Dairy Farmers corner in Bentinck Street, but it remains an empty lot today.
What we need to be able to do is separate the usual ups and downs faced by any commercial centre in any city and larger, structural problems that need to be addressed.
Bathurst alone isn't going to be able to turn back the tide of working from home and online shopping that has hurt so many bricks and mortar businesses.
But are there changes that can be made to our CBD - from parking to traffic flow to more special events - to make it more attractive for those who might otherwise choose to spend their time and money elsewhere?
Is our spread out, diverse CBD - ranging from the lower end of Keppel to Stewart Street and everything in between - an advantage or disadvantage?
Do those passing by on the highway have enough of an incentive to detour into the centre of our town?
In the end, the maths is simple: more foot traffic will equal more customers will equal more spending. And if that's the case, then perhaps it's time for the density debate.
An apartment tower is slowly making progress on a side street off Dubbo's Macquarie Street and Goulburn Mulwaree Council is considering changes to the height limits for its CBD to accommodate thousands of new residents in coming years.
We might have to think a bit bigger - or, to be more accurate, a bit higher. Is it a debate we are willing to consider?
