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It shouldn't take six Orange firefighters to get Dr Steve on the grass

June 22, 2022


Cook Park on January 26, 2022. Copyright: Orange News Examiner.

By Peter Holmes


It once took six firefighters to carry councillor Steve Peterson from a pathway to a raised grass section of Cook Park.


"And there's not always six firefighters around when you need them," Peterson told The Orange News Examiner on Wednesday morning.




The councillor, who uses a wheelchair, will move a motion at Thursday night's Orange City Council meeting that he hopes will lead to changes at Cook and Robertson parks, the CBD's showpiece green spaces.



In the background to his motion, Peterson wrote: "Cook Park and Robertson Park are locations for community events such as Australia Day, Food Week and others.



Pathway and raised grass section at Cook Park on January 26, 2022. Copyright: Orange News Examiner.


"Frequently stalls will be setup on the grass islands surrounded by paths. There is a vertical concrete barrier of a few centimetres between the grass and footpaths.


"This is a barrier for prams, wheelchairs, four-wheel walkers or similar."





Peterson, a GP, wants council's Ageing and Access Community Committee to look at possibilities to overcome this barrier.


In particular, the idea of dotting a handful of little ramps around the park to create a smoother link between the pathways and the raised grass.

They vertical borders mightn't be very high, but can make life unnecessarily difficult.



Peterson said the ramps would "need to be quite short, otherwise it would be unsightly or a trip hazard to other people".



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