COTTESLOE by-election Liberal candidate David Honey wants a “bypass” to solve congested and dangerous traffic on Curtin Avenue in Cottesloe and Tydeman Road, North Fremantle.
“Those are my roads to work, and I’ve progressively become terrified going through there on Tydeman,” Dr Honey told the Western Suburbs Weekly.
He said a bypass was needed through the port suburb joining the narrow avenue taking 20,000 vehicles daily through Cottesloe.
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READ NOW“Many people don’t know, but half the traffic over the Swan Rivers’ bridges that travels down this way is commercial traffic, plumbers and builders and those sort of folk, and that traffic is going to double in 10 years,” he said.
“Curtin Avenue should be moved into the railway reserve and upgraded to four lanes as an infrastructure project funded by the Federal Government,” WA Party Candidate Ron Norris said.
The Greens’ Greg Boland said the best option was the Cottesloe Council-proposed concept of putting a two-lane Curtin Avenue in a trench alongside a sunken railway, freeing train station land for commuter living and making Curtin Avenue a local route.
Micro Business Party candidate Cam Tinley said fixing Eric Street congestion could be helped by improving the railway crossing at Jarrad Street, while Independent Michael Tucak said governments, Main Roads, residents and the Public Transport Authority had to discuss a solution.
Previous concepts to solve congestion have included Stirling Highway crossing near North Fremantle railway station into a realigned Curtin Avenue, realigning the avenue into the former Leighton marshalling yards, then two or four lanes along the railway line north to Swanbourne.
Dr Honey said the realignment was only part of any solution, and the electorate may have to consider a complete bypass to stop future “gridlock” from south of Fremantle to Claremont.
However, estimates challenge increasing traffic on Curtin Avenue.
“There has been little change in this traffic over the past five years and in the next five years this is not expected to change significantly,” a Main Roads WA spokeswoman said.
She said plans for realigning Curtin Avenue and Port Beach Road to about Marine Parade were “reasonably well progressed”, but a planning review would be needed because part of the road reservation was in land used by the Fremantle train line further north.
Candidates forum, 7pm, Cottesloe Civic Centre, Cottesloe tomorrow.
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