Colourful poles make an entrance

The priority two entry statements are in addition to the three priority one statements already installed on Marmion Avenue ” north of Beach Road in Marmion and near Cranston Park in Kinross ” and on Joondalup Drive near Burns Beach Road.

The new entry statements, consisting of a two-metre high sign including logo, welcome message and a drive safely message with five decorative poles and a 100m landscaping strip, were approved in June for progressive installation. The landscaping will include concrete garden beds and the design for each will vary.

They are proposed for Connolly Drive near Macnaughton Crescent and Ocean Reef and Warwick roads and Whitfords and Hepburn avenues near Wanneroo Road.

The project will be undertaken in three phases with documentation to be finished in January 30 next year, tenders by May 20 and construction between July 1 and November 18.

The total cost is estimated to be $625,000 though $750,000 is allocated in the 2015-16 capital works program. Infrastructure services director Nico Claassen said the major component of this was the landscaping.

Cr John Chester said he was looking forward to the installations, particularly at Hepburn Avenue and Wanneroo Road.

‘While that development is going on at the intersection, I want to commend the City for extending the lengths of the scoop for left turning traffic,’ he said.

‘It has been an ongoing problem for the last five years and it’s going to be doubled in its length which will eliminate a traffic hold-up at that location.’

However, Cr Philippa Taylor said she could not support the installation.

‘Even though these ones are going to cost less each, it is still another $625,000 that we’re spending on something that I personally feel isn’t necessary for the City of Joondalup,’ she said.

Mayor Troy Pickard said since the installation of the three main entry statements, he has ‘received lots of positive comments about the vibrancy of those statements, particularly at night time’.

‘This particular project isn’t all about the entry statements on the eastern boundary of the City, although that is an important component to it, but it’s actually to do with the landscaping,’ he said.

He said the project cost had been reduced by 50 per cent since it was first presented.