Is a 30-year battle for a safer road really nearly in sight?
Leura's Michael MacLaurin has been fighting for Railway Parade since the early 1990s.
The road is narrow, there is no footpath and residents often have to walk with their backs to oncoming traffic because there's not even space to walk on the northern side of the road beside the railway line.
It has become increasingly popular over the years, partly to avoid snarls around Leura Mall and also because the industrial centre, which houses both Mitre 10 and Bunnings, has grown.
There are three sections where the traffic is one-lane only, forcing motorists to wait until the coast is clear.
Mr MacLaurin's repeated pleas for council to impose a 40km/h speed limit or to build a footpath have gone unanswered - until now.
The much-awaited traffic management plan for Leura, on public exhibition from May 16 until June 27, proposes a solution: Make the road one-way and build a footpath on the southern side.
"It's a start," said Mr MacLaurin, who believes it could work and should operate from the Katoomba end heading towards Leura Mall.
"I think it should be one-way for eastbound traffic because when you are walking west ... there's nowhere to go. One woman even walks backwards so she can see the cars coming."
The plan calls for one-way from the station to Murray St or further to Clarence St but Mr MacLaurin suggested going all the way to Govett St above the industrial centre.
"I am adding a road closure to Govett St and this would allow a pathway and cycleway to be constructed on the existing roadway as well as allowing a road traffic lane for eastbound traffic, that would meet Roads and Maritime standards," he said.
The other main proposals in the plan revolve around the movement of coaches around the village. At present (mostly pre-COVID), they would be lined up on Megalong Street, blocking the view of motorists trying to get out of the Woolworths carpark.
The plan offers two main options for coach traffic, both involving drop-offs and pick-ups on Railway Pde between the Mall and Grose Street.
One option would see coaches drop off then return to the highway, head east then get back to the village via Scott Avenue. The other has coaches travelling along Grose, Megalong, Wascoe and Craigend streets.
The Leura Community Alliance welcomed the public exhibition of the draft plan.
But chairman, Rod Stowe, said: "However, as Alliance members and affiliates have not yet had an opportunity to discuss the plan, it would be premature to make any comments on the proposals at this stage. We look forward to participation in the consultation process."
