North Perth Group chairman Stephen Catania said, while he supported investigating another traffic calming measure, it could not be done as an experiment.
‘I think it would be a mistake to remove the humps and experiment with other traffic management with the hope that it will control the speed, intensity and security for people crossing Fitzgerald Street to attend the retail shops,’ he said.
‘Businesses and residents of North Perth understand that the speed humps are not ideal, however before any consideration is made to remove them, there needs to be a viable, effective and proven alternative.
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READ NOW‘I am not convinced that lowering the speed limit will have the desired effect in North Perth as it has had in Beaufort Street.’
Vincent councillor John Carey put forward a motion, supported by council at last week’s meeting, to review the humps and assess the effectiveness of alternative measures.
He told the Guardian Express that drivers were taking risks by swerving around the humps.
A Main Roads spokeswoman said the department considered the humps more effective than reducing speed limits and supported their continued presence on the strip.
Hair Outaquin owner Jason Outten said the street was a ‘race track’ before the speed humps were installed.
‘Slower traffic makes the area more pleasant,’ Mr Outten said.
‘Cars definitely will not stick to 60km/h if the speed humps are taken out. Something needs to be there to slow the traffic.’
Mr Catania said any replacement speed calming measure needed to be as effective as the speed humps to ensure safety and amenity was maintained.
‘There are a number of advantages [to reducing vehicle speed] aside from the obvious safety benefits for the North Perth town centre, which include increased business interaction with commuters,’ he said.
‘Both consultation with Main Roads and the community should predicate any move to remove the Fitzgerald Street speed humps as businesses may be disadvantaged if access to their retail stores is difficult and prospective clients feel intimated by the speed and density of traffic.’
A report on the review will go back to council in the coming months.