Fremantle to Murdoch and Cockburn Central transport capacity
Congestion is projected to worsen on the corridors connecting Murdoch and Cockburn Central to Fremantle, due to population growth, urban infill and high car-dependency for journeys to work, education and recreation.
In the north, South Street connects Fremantle and Murdoch, which are two major growth precincts within Metropolitan Perth. The South Street corridor is already congested and has relatively uncompetitive public transport options. Along the north-south and western axis, Hampton Road, Rockingham Road, North Lake Road and Beeliar Drive are important transit corridors with growing congestion.
In 2017, network analysis from the WA Government indicated that South Street had the second highest congestion costs per road-kilometre in Perth. These problems are expected to worsen over time with development in southern Perth. The Murdoch Activity Centre is projected to grow to be the largest employment centre outside of the Perth CBD with 35,000 workers, 44,000 students and 22,000 residents by 2031.
Traffic grew on the North Lake Road corridor by over 20% in the 3 years to 2021. In the next 10 years, congestion is expected to significantly increase at Cockburn Central, even with committed infrastructure works such as the Armadale Road Bridge and the
completion of the Thornlie-Cockburn Rail Link.
The 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit found that urban travel patterns are becoming increasingly complex, driven by economic, social, demographic and technological changes. It is important to ensure that the planning and design of our networks reflect the needs of customers. Failure to cater for changing patterns of travel could contribute to growing congestion in our fast-growing cities like Perth.
This proposal previously focussed on the Fremantle to Murdoch corridor and was updated to include the corridor to Cockburn Central following additional analysis from the proponent.
Strategic Fit
The proposal aligns with Australian, Western Australian and local government infrastructure policy objectives and strategies, including the Perth and Peel @ 3.5million (2021) land use planning and infrastructure frameworks, the City of Cockburn Integrated Transport Strategy 2020-2030 and Infrastructure WA’s Foundations for a Stronger Tomorrow (2021) that recommended planning of light rail and/or bus rapid transit for the next stage of major project transport priority investment in Perth.
Societal Impact
Improving transport capacity and modal options along identified priority corridors with growing congestion and at high density employment and development centres has the potential to deliver travel time savings and improved access to jobs, education, healthcare and recreation.
Deliverability
There are a range of alignments, transport solutions and technology improvement options that could address the proposal, including:
- enhancing the existing road network and using smart traffic management solutions and improving bus services, and
- providing higher-capacity public transport options, if sufficient demand can be demonstrated.
The proponent would need to engage with the state government on delivery.
Proponent to identify and analyse potential investment options (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework).
A Stage 2 submission should identify complementary and substitute options that mitigate congestion in both corridors.
Refer to Infrastructure Glossary for terms and definitions.