Joondalup council has voted to push back against Main Roads WA’s plan to install more traffic lights on Marmion Avenue while also requesting that speed limits are “defaulted” back to 80km/h.
Main Roads is seeking public consultation until May 6 on proposed traffic signals at Marmion Avenue’s intersections with Flinders Avenue in Hillarys, Seacrest Drive in Sorrento, Freeman Way in Marmion and Beach Road in Watermans Bay.
These plans will affect commuters in both the Joondalup and Stirling council areas.
A proposal from Joondalup councillor Lewis Hutton at last month’s meeting that the mayor and CEO write to Main Roads and the relevant minister and members of State Parliament to ask for the default speed limit along Marmion Avenue be returned to 80km/h and that any further changes take place only after proper community consultation was passed 9-3.
The motion also included that roundabouts and slip lanes be considered over future traffic light installations.
“Community frustration is centred around the perception that Main Roads and the State Government are attempting to implement Band-Aid solutions to our congestion problems instead of investing in real solutions such as slip lanes, intersection upgrades and roundabouts,” Cr Hutton said.
“One of the main frustrations is the decision by Main Roads early last year to reduce the speed limit along the majority of Marmion Avenue from 80km/h to 70km/h.
“This change followed the State Government decision to drop the speed limits and controlled intersections along the same corridor, which left many local residents baffled at the constant speeding up and slowing down.
“Council was also blindsided by the decision, with many waking up early one morning to find the speed limit had changed. In fact, prior notice was only given to council administration via email five days before the changes were implemented.”
His proposal went against a staff recommendation which said a reduction in speed limits on approaches to intersections reduced both crash probability and severity at a low cost.
Cr Hutton said the statistics provided by the State Government were generalised and not specific to main roads.
Cr Christopher May said he regularly used Marmion Avenue and more traffic lights would create a “nightmare on the road” and he did not want the stretch to “become a car park”.
Cr Daniel Kingston said he was in support of writing to Main Roads but did not support how the motion was written, given that councillors did not know how such changes would impact road safety.
“For all of those given intersections, do I know with certainty that a roundabout or slip lane would be a more appropriate way of dealing with congestion? Secondly, that it would actually manage the traffic in a way that doesn’t affect the operating speed,” he said.
“Thirdly, the important one is always about risk and safety and the financial and economic aspects to it
“I haven’t seen any particular data from Cr Hutton or Cr May that these intersection would operate at 80km/h and the statistical risk would not be different, given that fact I found it very hard to assert what the speed should be.
“I would like to support us just writing to the minister and saying they should reconsider the decision, but the assertion what the speed should be also carries the assertion that it is safe at that speed at all intersections.”
Main Roads WA said it had been reviewing the section of Marmion Avenue between Karrinyup Road and Ocean Reef Road since 2021 and there were no plans to adjust the speed limit between Karrinyup Road and Ocean Reef Road any further.
“Our agency, along with other key stakeholders such as the Public Transport Authority and the cities of Stirling and Joondalup, underwent thorough assessment which resulted in the proposal of traffic signals at four intersections on Marmion Avenue,” a spokesperson said.
“Traffic signals have been proposed to improve safety and access to Marmion Avenue at these four intersections. This outcome was based on an analysis of crash statistics, traffic volumes and community feedback.
“A strong feature from the community was the facilities provided for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users were below the standard expected by users of Marmion Avenue.
“Further traffic modelling will be undertaken at the next design stage to determine the travel time impact for all road users.”
City of Stirling councillor Rob Paparde submitted an almost identical motion to Cr Hutton’s at Stirling’s March 26 meeting.
The motion will be up for debate by that council at its April 30 meeting.