Mason ward councillor Jesse Jacobs with his partner Sherry Sun and their children Gabriel Jacobs (6) and Chelsea Jacobs (4) on Crawford Street – one of many streets in East Cannington in need of a footpath.
Camera IconMason ward councillor Jesse Jacobs with his partner Sherry Sun and their children Gabriel Jacobs (6) and Chelsea Jacobs (4) on Crawford Street – one of many streets in East Cannington in need of a footpath. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Children footpath safety fears on Crawford Street

Emma GearyCanning Gazette

EAST CANNINGTON resident Neville Lobo fears for the safety of children who walk on Crawford Street because of the absence of a footpath along the 200m stretch of road.

Mr Lobo, who has been campaigning for the City of Canning to install a footpath along the road for the past two-and-a-half years, said vehicles sped down the street threatening pedestrians.

He said because the verge along the road was uneven or had plants growing on it people had to walk on the road.

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“My concern is there are little children who walk to school against the traffic on Crawford Street and they have to walk on the road,” he said.

“There are idiots who drive on the road. It is a 50kph zone and people are doing 80kph on it. You find tyre burn-out marks on the road.”

Mr Lobo said there were many new housing developments in East Cannington that were without footpaths.

“I think the first thing that should be done is there should be footpaths put into these new developments,” he said.

Mason Ward councillor Jesse Jacobs supported the call for more footpaths in the suburb.

Cr Jacobs said more than half of the roads in East Cannington were without footpaths.

“I just hope council can address the footpath issue as soon as possible,” he said.

“I hope it will be a part of the budget process in May. Some residents definitely think we are neglected here and that if we were in Shelley, Rossmoyne or Willetton it would be different.”

He said many new families to Australia were moving to the suburb flagged for higher residential density.

“It is a safety issue for children. If we want to step up density in East Cannington we need to make sure we have the infrastructure in place.”

He said local residents were not visiting the recently developed Dabchick Park located close to Crawford Street because of a lack of footpaths leading to the playground.

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