The review will take place after weeks of criticism about the effectiveness of the raised crossing linking Woolworths and Myer, with the Orange Taxi Co-op launching a scathing attack on the crossing’s design and location.

The introduction of the crossing has lowered the speed limit in the area to 40km/h and has cut the Woolworths taxi rank in half.

Co-op board member Peter Cudars yesterday broke the silence of dozens of taxi drivers who he said were furious about the latest changes.

“Council has a hidden agenda of complicating and junking up Anson Street so they can proceed with shutting the street down to create an outdoor mall. They have given no thought at all before going ahead with a slapdash approach,” Mr Cudars said.

“That’s not planning. Where is the consideration for the elderly and the disabled because, if anything, this ridiculous crossing makes things 10 times harder for pedestrians, our taxi drivers and all the other drivers who use the street each day.”

The issue will come to a head tonight at the last official meeting of Orange City Council after Cr Reg Kidd issued a notice of motion calling for a review into the area by an independent planning consultant.

Cr Kidd said the mix of a loading zone, a taxi rank, driveways, speed humps, the pedestrian crossing and merging lanes in Anson Street made for a potentially deadly combination, with a pedestrian already killed attempting to cross in front of Woolworths in 1992.

“I can’t think of anywhere else that I have travelled where there is such a potpourri of things working against each other. What has been done over the years has been a series of attempts to make the street safer which has in fact exacerbated the problem,” Cr Kidd said.

“This latest attempt (the crossing) is not even working properly at the quietest time of the quietest day of the week.”

Council staff will also tonight recommend a review of traffic and pedestrian operations in the area.