THE virus lockdown has brought into sharper focus another uncomfortable truth for Lithgow - and while it's got nothing to do with medical issues it has everything to do with our health as a vibrant community.
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With far fewer parked vehicles for much of the day there's no escaping just how barren our 'greenless' Main Street shopping strip really is.
Most significant greenery that previously existed, such as it was, was ripped out for not a great deal of obvious benefit during the CBD 'revitalisation' program a couple of years back. (I know, it wasn't a total loss; we did inherit some poo coloured bollards as replacement).
Now we have left some attractive shrubbery at the Lithgow Street end and the quite nice Pioneer Park at the top end.
But in between - an urban concrete desert, broken only by the commendable efforts of a few shopkeepers.
Regular traffic flow cushions this unfortunate panorama but in lockdown mode there's no escaping the weekday reality - just as it always is for much of our weekends.
No way to say 'welcome to Lithgow. Come and do some shopping!'
If there's a will there's always a way; maybe some of those 'boxed sets'' as in Cook Plaza could be considered.
Jangled nerves
REMARKABLE what a little dab of black stuff will do in calming road rage. In recent days the language has improved considerably in the vicinity of Bridge, Tank and Inch Streets in Lithgow after Council finally completed a new coat of bitumen over what has been a bone jarring experience since pipework excavations over a year ago. Good things worth waiting for?
..... but wait!
BUT not every motorist in that part of town is happy. An increasingly irritated Oakey Park resident wants to know when the barriers on Inch Street near Eskbank rail yards will be removed. Maybe there's a good reason for the months of delay but there's no evidence of any progress.
Bad start
THE first weekend of eased lockdowns in the Lithgow area didn't go well. Limited freedom came at a cost with two dramas east of the city - a bushwalker and a motorcyclist with fractured limbs after separate accidents within a short time of each other. A busy day at the office for our medical and emergency services.
Please explain
SOME correspondents are wondering why in the virus lockdown you can play golf but not lawn bowls up to now. Doesn't seem to be an obvious problem with social distancing on a bowling green any more than a golf course, just on a smaller scale.
