Latest news with #MainRoadsWA
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Vic Park proceed in move to lower city speed limit to 40km/h
The Town of Victoria Park will be proceeding to the next stage to cut speeds on local roads, joining a growing number of councils taking part in a 40km/h road project. City staff recommended the council approve proceeding to the third stage of the 40km/h Safer Speeds Project based on engagements, information gathering and research studies. At the council meeting on Tuesday night, Councillor Jesse Hamer spoke in opposition of the implementation, stating he read a lot of opposition in community submissions regarding the implementation of speed reductions in any parts of the town. Mayor Karen Vernon referred to how the City of Vincent implemented their speed reductions, siting that once it got underway it mitigated a lot of the communities concerns. Only Cr Hamer voted against the item, and it was carried. In April last year, the town engaged in project planning, began funding applications for signage and the preliminary stages of design, and in October held a concept forum where it assessed the City of Vincent's implementation of a lower speed limit. Between August 2024 and July this year, the town held council briefings, community engagement and analysis. Overall, 439 people responded, with most saying their choice of transport in the area was by car. Although there was overall support for safer roads, some respondents shared doubts around the effectiveness of speed reductions and called for local evidence to support the need for the speed change, as well as requesting incorporating other road safety measures, while sharing additional concerns regarding congestion and longer travel times. There was support for speed reductions on streets around schools, parks and shopping areas, rather than on high-volume roads, with fears a speed reduction could cause excessive delays to commute times. The town considered that a 20 per cent reduction in speed limits results in a 200 per cent increase in likelihood of surviving a collision. Credit: Victoria Park The third stage includes preparation of an evaluation framework, data collection on local roads and community engagement, confirmation of a Perth Inner City Group funding application to the Road Safety Commission, implementation of communication plan and branding, signage design, and approval application with Main Roads WA. 'Staff have confidence the project offers significant benefit to community safety, satisfactory community support, with strong community engagement at this early stage.' the report said. According to the report, the town has an 'endorsed position to support' further reductions, which would slow motorists down to 30km/h in activity centres, however 'area-wide reductions to 30km/h are not within the scope of this project'. It said it would be more financially efficient to reduce speeds at the same time as other PICG councils, costing around $600,000, but if it was delayed it would cost about $950,000.
ABC News
17-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Fauna protections on $1.46b Wilman Wadandi Highway not working, rescuers say
Wildlife rescuers in Western Australia's South West say flawed design and construction of fauna protection measures along the Wilman Wadandi Highway are putting animals and motorists at risk. In a bid to accommodate wild kangaroos, the $1.46 billion road features fauna underpasses and 64,200 metres of fauna fencing. There are also 19 rope bridges built for the passage of endangered western ringtail possums. Animal care group FAWNA president, Suzanne Strapp, said the group had responded to "countless" calls about injured kangaroos and echidnas since the highway opened in December 2024. The rescuers described the underpasses as dangerous because they were dual use culverts that allowed animals to come up onto the four lane highway before reaching the other side of the road. The state's transport authority has defended the highway's "comprehensive suite" of wildlife protection infrastructure. A Main Roads WA spokesperson said consultation on the plans came from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, and were approved by the state and federal environmental protection authorities. Monitoring involved more than 50 cameras recording several hundred movements of possums and other creatures. The spokesperson said the location and design of the structures prioritised "the shortest and most practical connection points for fauna, based on known movement patterns and local conditions". But they conceded the works on the fauna infrastructure were not entirely complete, despite the highway officially opening seven months ago. Roo Rescue WA founder, Kim Grant, said she was receiving about a dozen calls a week about kangaroos trapped on the Wilman Wadandi Highway when it first opened. She said she now regularly relocated the animals that were not already dead on the roadside. "I can't do all of the government's work for them for free." In addition to the problematic underpasses, Ms Grant said the possum bridges failed to begin and end in healthy possum habitat. "They've put them into dead trees and things, looking for structural integrity in that respect … but the arrival and destination have to be living trees," she said. Ms Grant and Ms Strapp both have doubts about Main Roads WA's consultation process for fauna protection. "Main roads used consultants like ecologists to forecast what was going to occur, but it seems a lot of it was lost in translation, or was just to sort of meet or to tick a box," Ms Strapp said. "The erection of all these mitigating constructions is just a slap in the face, and even worse, when you drive along the Wilman Wadandi Highway you see some really beautiful artwork of birds and animals. "I think the number of animals that have been killed or injured on that road speaks for itself."
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Council responds to bizarre scene on Aussie road: 'How could this go so wrong?'
A city council has responded to confusion over a wayward and "wild" set of road markings leading up to a busy intersection, after photos showed white lines strewn haphazardly and horizontally across the road, rather than running parallel with the side of the road as intended. Perth residents were left scratching their heads this week at seeing the markings, photographed on Hutton Street in Osborne Park — an area currently undergoing maintenance. "How could this go so wrong?" a local motorist posted to social media. Responding, another resident added, "I saw this today and was like, WTF". "It's signalling that cars must drift through this bend," one person joked, while another said; "It's like the road got stitches". Yahoo News asked the City of Stirling Council for a please explain over the strange-looking markings, and a spokesperson revealed there's quite a simple explanation for the mishap. "The lane markings on that stretch of Hutton Street are temporary markings installed by the City's contractor as an interim measure while the road is resurfaced," the council explained. "The temporary markings were installed correctly, but a combination of wet weather and vehicles changing lanes can cause them to move." The spokesperson told Yahoo that new temporary markings had been reinstated this week to address the problem. "Road resurfacing is expected to be completed this month. Once that work is complete, Main Roads WA will install permanent line markings," they said. Across Australia, it's been an unusual week for road marking-related snafus. In Sydney, a major council in the city's southwest was forced to remove a now-infamous diamond-shaped roundabout, which left local drivers confused and made national headlines. Aussie council removes bizarre roundabout after backlash from drivers Residents erupt after incident at controversial roundabout New Aussie road markings aimed at giving drivers a 'sense of warning' Baffled motorists were mystified over how to use it, with many opting to ignore the lines and drive straight over it. Footage captured by Yahoo showed several motorists driving right through the diamond-shaped roundabout, including a large truck and several SUVs. A local councillor branded the design "embarrassing" and over the weekend, it was eventually painted over. Council said it would install a regular, circular-shaped roundabout in its place, but before they could, and in the absence of any roundabout at all, an accident occurred on Monday. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
ABC News
02-07-2025
- ABC News
Copper theft leaving Perth roads in darkness, streetlights without electricity
Stretches of highways in Perth remain in darkness every night as authorities struggle to tackle a huge amount of copper theft leaving thousands of streetlights without electricity. About 65 kilometres of street lights and 14 km of pathway lights in the metro area are not turning on at night because the cables that power them have been stolen. Copper theft has a lucrative resell value on the black market. Some of the worst spots include Tonkin Highway around Ellenbrook, and major roads in Mandurah. Transport Rita Saffioti said theft of the copper cables that power the lights has increased significantly since 2018. "This is across the network, to be honest ... there has been increased theft," she told parliament. Main Roads WA estimated it spends $2 to $3 million a year replacing stolen cabling, yet the problem persists. The agency's James Pinnington said more sparse sections of Perth's highways were vulnerable. "Thieves are accessing the pit and conduit system with a variety of different tools, and they're becoming more creative in how they're doing it," he told ABC Radio Perth. Mr Pinnington said the agency was investigating new measures to secure its access pits, including trialling different lockable lids and cable management systems. "We're pretty confident that it's going to slow people down and reduce the amount of theft across the network," he said. But with more than 10,000 cable access pits across the state, he conceded the cost of implementing the measures would be significant. "It is [a lot]. Unfortunately if we don't make these changes we're going to experience more and more theft," he said. "It's important we do this work otherwise we're just going to be replacing cable after cable without keeping the lights running." Ausgrid — the biggest power provider on Australia's east coast — said thieves are going as far as cutting down power poles with chainsaws to access the internal wires. "These criminals are not just putting their own lives at risk but are also endangering [others] by leaving powerlines exposed, often cut and lying on the ground," the agency's Sam Sofi said. The increase in copper cabling theft comes despite laws introduced several years ago requiring scrap metal traders or anyone wanting to sell copper to have a licence. Mr Pinnington said those laws have merely created a wider underground market for thieves to pursue. "Not all of the scrap metal is being scrapped locally. With some of it going into ship containers, offshore or maybe over east, to mask the behaviour of what's happening," he said. Ms Saffioti yesterday told parliament the government was looking at installing alarms and CCTV in some heavily targeted areas to deter would be thieves. Mr Pinnington said while those measure would be useful, the public remained the best weapon against cable theft. "I think the most effective measure really is people reporting suspicious behaviour to police," he said.
Perth Now
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Entry to major Perth highway closed as pedestrian hit by car
A Great Eastern Highway entry has been shut after a pedestrian was hit by a car. Credit: MainRoadsWA Entry to a busy highway in Perth's east has been closed after a person was hit by a car on Wednesday afternoon. The pedestrian was hit by a car around 4.45pm on Wednesday at the Morrison Road entry to Great Eastern Highway in Midland. Police and St John ambulance crews attended the incident and the pedestrian was treated for minor injuries. If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. The Morrison Road entry to Great Eastern Highway westbound has been shut. The left lane on Great Eastern Highway westbound has also been closed. Main Roads WA said that traffic was slow on approach.
