FAQs

In October 2022, we initiated public consultation on a planning concept for Charles Street between Wiluna Street and Carr Street through North Perth. The intention of this planning review and concept design was to establish the land required to make amendments to the Metropolitan Regional Scheme and protect the land for the future of Charles Street.

Fewer than half of the respondents supported the proposal (46.1 per cent) with a key area of concern being the number of private properties likely to be impacted by the proposed concept.

In response, Main Roads has ceased all consultation on the proposed concept and will not be seeking changes to the existing Planning Control Area.

Feedback received to date will be assessed and the information fed into any future community consultation over long-term potential options for alleviating traffic congestion along Charles Street.

Charles Street is an important primary regional road and high priority public transit corridor linking the Perth CBD to suburbs in the north of Perth. It also connects road users to Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways, Scarborough Beach Road and Wanneroo Road.

Charles Street is already under pressure from nearby residential and commercial re-development, as well as increases in Perth’s growing population and regional traffic demands. With high traffic volumes through sections of Charles Street, and a number of major intersections constricting traffic flows, extended periods of peak traffic congestion have become common.

A plan is needed that will cater to Perth’s growing population and residential and commercial developments, and additional public transport and regional transport needs.

Safety concerns, extensive travel delays, disruptions from increased noise, especially during peak traffic conditions on Charles Street, are compounding community issues. High-volume movements of people and goods will make the road more and more difficult for pedestrians and cyclists to cross and negotiate safely.

We want to improve the Charles Street corridor to provide benefits for the surrounding neighbourhood. The concept offers safer and more convenient movements for locals, people from all over Perth and travellers far and wide, while improving accessibility, mobility, transport choice and urban amenity.

The concept includes:

• a series of short vertical bypasses at each major intersection (“duck and dives”) that take regional through-traffic below-ground and out of intersections, improving safety and efficiency. The concept shows vertical bypasses at Vincent Street, Scarborough Beach Road/Angove Street and Green Street/Walcott Street/Wiluna Street
• full movement intersections at Vincent Street, Scarborough Beach Road/Angove Street and Green Street/Walcott Street/Wiluna Street remaining at surface level to provide connectivity and better east-west movements for local traffic and operating grade-separated from regional traffic
• a dedicated south bound lane for buses between the vertical bypasses to prioritise public transport
• pedestrian and cyclist crossing facilities at major intersections and some other locations to safely connect communities
• areas for paths, landscaping and public amenities with minimal land impacts.

Consistent with the State Government’s Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million planning and infrastructure frameworks, our vision for Charles Street is aimed at retaining its function as a strategic movement corridor whilst providing improvements in neighbourhood place outcomes vital for community liveability and connectivity.

With both planned and existing urban development constraining the corridor, optimised use of limited space in the planning of the future transport network has been a key consideration.

The concept focuses on enabling urban amenity improvements that align with the planned redevelopment within the City of Vincent. Safety, efficiency, and reliability of transport systems (including public transport, walking and cycling networks) was also critical. Through careful investigation of various corridor treatment options, consultation and liaison with key government agencies, and traffic assessment, we identified a planning concept.

Following community feedback, we plan to include the required additional land in a Planning Control Area and ultimately amend the Metropolitan Regional Scheme.

• Minimising property impacts and optimising the use of the existing space to maintain a safe, reliable, and efficient arterial road network on Charles Street and its intersections, thereby connecting communities and centres of economic, employment and education opportunities
• supporting safer and more efficient bus operation and the promotion of public transport as an alternative transport mode
• •integrating safer pedestrian and cycling links to and across Charles Street, connecting surrounding local community and nearby activity centres, such as Mt Hawthorn & North Perth town centres
• encouraging active and alternative transport modes (walking, cycling) via safer and alternative movement corridors at local neighbourhood level
• ensuring safer access for local traffic movements.

The concept aims to allow residential and commercial areas bordered by Charles Street to thrive, with an increase in active transport modes, as people feel safer and comfortable to walk and cycle within the local area and to access public transport, local facilities, and nearby activity centres.

• Improving pedestrian and cyclist crossings on Charles Street with new signals
• allowing space for urban design elements including street furniture, landscaping and public art
• removing the physical barrier of regional traffic flows and congestion enhancing safety and mobility
• providing road capacity for future traffic growth towards 2041
• better connecting the community by improving links between activity areas along Charles Street and the emerging Angove Street - Scarborough Beach Road activity area
• improving social and environmental amenity with less traffic at major intersections and local roads, making local traffic movements more efficient
• improving regional traffic journeys on Charles Street via the bypasses, ensuring less regional traffic uses residential streets as short cuts and “rat-runs”
• minimising traffic noise and stop-start conditions at key intersections
• maintaining accessibility to allow people and goods to move easily through the area
• minimising land impacts.

We have considered traditional road widening solutions for Charles Street; however, these were deemed unsuitable due to their adverse effect on surrounding properties, environmental values and pedestrian amenity. A widening approach would not improve traffic flow at the major intersections or eliminate stopping movements for through traffic. Widening also creates a greater ‘footprint’ requiring more land compared to what would be required to deliver the concept.

With both planned and existing urban development constraining the corridor, optimised use of limited space is essential.

The State Government’s Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million planning and infrastructure frameworks includes provision for high priority bus services connecting numerous activity centres along Charles Street.

The preferred concept includes a southbound bus lane between intersections to improve public transport efficiency, in particular for morning commuters. In addition, the improved traffic flow and vertical bypasses of intersections will enhance operations of existing bus routes using Charles Street in both directions.

There are no proposed upgrades at this stage, but we will continue to manage this area which is adjacent to the freeway to ensure it is working safely and efficiently.

Government is currently considering options for the Wanneroo Road corridor, between Green Street and Beach Road, that include improvements to the road network and land uses alongside. Teams at Main Roads and the Department of Transport are working collaboratively to ensure the solution on the Charles Street and Wanneroo Road corridor is integrated and forms a pleasant user experience.

Multiple crossing points will provide better connections for pedestrians and cyclists, enabling improved movements for people walking, riding bikes as well as local traffic through the adjoining neighbourhood areas.

Although the WA Bicycle Network Plan has not identified Charles Street as a route for a Principal Shared Path, our preferred long-term solution includes wider verges along Charles Street allowing improvements to paths and space for tree planting. A number of signalised pedestrian crossings are in the concept between the major intersections which will provide safe opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists to cross.

A lowered roadway carrying regional traffic under major intersections results in less traffic volumes at ground level. This will allow intersections to operate better for improved local access to properties, local facilities, and businesses.

Multiple crossing points will make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to cross Charles Street and will improve safety and traffic movements and congestion.

When developing the concept, we have tried to protect existing trees wherever possible. We have identified that should this concept move into project development, a number of trees will be impacted. In response to this, the concept envisages greater verge space for tree planting opportunities to enhance street amenity.

We have taken an integrated transport and land use planning approach to respect both the movement function of Charles Street as well its enabling role in supporting the place function of the existing and future residential and commercial development within the surrounding neighbourhood.

As part of our planning review, we are contacting both residents and businesses along Charles Street to better understand their needs.

Understanding landowner needs will help us define an ultimate road layout that considers future impacts in relation to proposed developments.

Our key focus in developing a concept was to reduce property impacts and optimise the use of the existing space, especially when compared to traditional road widening solutions.

The acquisition and management of land areas reserved under the Metropolitan Region Scheme for primary and other regional roads, parks and recreation and regional open space areas, special uses including planning control areas and improvement plans and major land development projects, is coordinated by the Western Australian Planning Commission. This process is discussed with potentially affected landowners.

Following landowner and community consultation, we will review our concept so we can seek approval for a new Planning Control Area, and ultimately a new Charles Street road reservation within the Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS).

Traffic flow and speed are big contributors causing road traffic noise. Typically, road traffic is noisier and more disturbing near intersections, as multiple converging traffic flows are causing variations in speed and vehicles are involved in stop-start and acceleration movements.

Vertical intersection bypasses (so called “duck and dive” sections) are expected to result in less interruptions to regional traffic flows and more constant speeds will reduce traffic noise. The lowered roadway design at intersection as well as increased distance from residences will further assist in mitigating noise by effectively limiting sound propagation, with a large share of the traffic passing through the below-ground sections of road beneath the major intersections and thereby being further away and better concealed from nearby residences.

In finalising our planning, we will undertake further noise modelling for the preferred concept design. If required, noise mitigation measures will then be considered as part of further planning work, in line with the State Planning Policy 5.4.

These elements will be considered if the preferred plan becomes a funded project. Any community and stakeholder aspirations and feedback will be considered at this stage.

This is a long-term road planning review only, not a funded project. No funding is currently available for project development or delivery/construction.

There is currently no funding for construction of all or part of this concept. Construction impacts are carefully managed by Main Roads and its contractors through a series of management plans to minimise noise, dust and disruption.

We will undertake a Ground Water and Dewatering review which will identify any effect the future Charles Street will have on ground water and if it will impact the local bores.

We will consider all feedback gathered during this consultation process to determine any required changes to the concept. We will then liaise with the Western Australian Planning Commission to commence the process of reserving the land required for reservation in the Metropolitan Region Scheme, initially through implementation of a Planning Control Area to protect identified land requirements until the scheme amendment process is finalised.

If the concept receives funding and a project is developed, further community engagement around the concept will take place.