Main Roads WA has offered the City of Wanneroo up to $2.4 million to build a roundabout at the Baltimore Parade and Hester Avenue junction.
Camera IconMain Roads WA has offered the City of Wanneroo up to $2.4 million to build a roundabout at the Baltimore Parade and Hester Avenue junction. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Signals and roundabouts: City of Wanneroo debates traffic treatment solutions

Laura Pond and and Lucy JarvisNorth Coast Times

CONFLICTING views about whether roundabouts and traffic signals would ease traffic congestion led to the withdrawal of two reports from this month’s Wanneroo City council meeting agenda.

At yesterday’s briefing session, councillors posed several questions about two junctions where traffic treatment options are being considered; one at Hester Avenue and Baltimore Parade in Merriwa and the other at Joondalup and Cheriton drives in Carramar.

Discussing the Merriwa report, the City’s assets director Harminder Singh said Main Roads WA had offered the City up to $2.4 million to build a roundabout at the junction.

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Mr Singh said the Public Transport Authority had approached the City about installing traffic signals as the 483 bus route needed to turn right onto Hester Avenue from Baltimore Parade and Renshaw Boulevard.

He said when the City approached Main Roads, it had rejected the signals solution and subsequent modelling by both the City and Main Roads suggested while both signals and a roundabout would ease congestion, the latter would be more effective.

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However, Mr Singh said the City’s preference remained to have traffic signals as it expected traffic would increase to about 30,000 vehicles a day after the Mitchell Freeway extension opens next month and construction of a roundabout would take up to two years to complete.

“It will create a lot of inconvenience to the users; there will be further disruption,” he said.

“Signals can be delivered sooner than a roundabout.”

Mr Singh said staff would recommend the City accept the $2.4 million for traffic signals rather than a roundabout and write to the Transport Minister.

Councillor Dianne Guise said there were already five roundabouts on Hester Avenue – at Marmion Avenue, Connolly Drive, Ridgewood Boulevard and the two dog-bone roundabouts at the freeway on and off ramps.

Cr Guise asked if PTA could divert the bus routes to turn left instead of right into Hester, loop around the roundabouts and then rejoin the current routes and requested more information about the distances between intersections.

Cr Linda Aitken asked if the City could invite Main Roads to speak at a council forum and Mayor Tracey Roberts asked the director to withdraw the report for further discussion at a forum, which Mr Singh agreed to do.

Carramar

COUNCILLORS were not convinced about abandoning plans for traffic lights at the junction of Joondalup and Cheriton drives in Carramar.

The City had previously sought to build signals at the site but Main Roads preferred a roundabout so last May the council decided to continue monitoring the area.

The report presented at the briefing session found an elliptical shaped roundabout costing $1.27 million was the most feasible option but not considered a priority as it had a low benefit cost ratio and would be ineligible for Black Spot funding.

It said the impending opening of the Mitchell Freeway extension, widening of Wanneroo Road between Joondalup and Flynn drives, Pinjar Road extension to Flynn and proposed grade separation at the Wanneroo and Joondalup intersection would likely affect traffic at the site.

Main Roads and consultants working on the grade separation will undertake a comprehensive traffic study and modelling for intersections from Burns Beach Road to Cheriton Drive along Joondalup Drive and it was possible they could make modifications to the site as part of the project.

If not, the report recommended the junction be reassessed six months after completion of the various projects.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Martin Kennealey

Councillors raised concerns about the recommendations, with Cr Dianne Guise questioning how changes at Flynn Drive would help residents around Cheriton as most would travel south along the freeway.

“It might cut some traffic down but I don’t think it alleviates them coming out,” she said.

“I need more information to convince me why we’re not doing anything on Cheriton now; this is not going to go away as an issue.”

Cr Brett Treby expressed frustration with Main Roads’ response and asked how some traffic lights were approved such as those at the “private driveway” of Lake Joondalup Lifestyle Village on Wanneroo Road.

He cited examples of signals built close to grade separations at Whitfords Avenue and Warwick Road, asking assets director Harminder Singh whether it was an unreasonable consideration, who responded that previously Main Roads had not approved the City’s requests.

Cr Guise inquired if they had ever been able to convince Main Roads to change its position as the community had “cried out loud and clear” for traffic lights at Cheriton.

Chief executive Daniel Simms agreed to ask Main Roads to host a community forum for residents upon request from Cr Samantha Fenn.

Given the number of concerns, Cr Guise suggested the matter be withdrawn to get more information.

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