Wagga’s Integrated Transport Study (ITS), delivered nine months late after a painful labour, was almost universally panned by residents – and rightfully so.

Among its litany of brain-addling recommendations was not to pursue a duplication of Gobba Bridge, concluding further development north of the river should be ceased.

This sparked a crisis of confidence from at least one developer who, fearing council could adopt the report, immediately scrapped plans for a much-needed Boorooma supermarket.

The report also scoffed at suggestions Wagga’s CBD had a parking problem and recommended removing the provision for parking spaces as part of new developments.

The worse the parking problem, it found, the more likely residents would be to ride pushbikes rather than drive.

But you don’t solve a problem by making it worse and the blueprint to Wagga’s traffic future was beginning to look like a colossal white elephant.

When it was released in mid-February, council should have swiftly distanced itself from some of the report’s more outlandish suggestions.

But with due process to follow and a $240,000 price tag on the report, our leaders chose to remain silent, outside of urging residents to have their say.

Close to 100 residents and organisations decided to do just that, the vast majority condemning the report’s findings.

Last week, council went some way to redeeming itself, releasing a new draft ITS that bears little resemblance to the original report.

The draft report, expected to be green-lighted for public exhibition by councillors on Monday night, takes a far more commonsense approach to our transport issues.

And council should be commended for listening to the public feedback and responding accordingly. Indeed, this is the basis of any healthy democracy.

The job for the body politic now is to forge a new, workable document that addresses the city’s traffic pinch points while also encourages a more healthy, active community.

The whole debacle should also act as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hiring out-of-town consultants on issues that require local knowledge.