Perth Voice Interactive

CHARLES STREET will become a busy six-lane highway in what locals are calling “an urban design disaster”.

The WA government’s plans for the street include a bus bridge and busway.

Geraldine Box and Andrew Main are getting the word out to locals by dropping hundreds of flyers around the area, much of it still residential with houses just a couple of metres from the thoroughfare.

“This is going to be a roaring corridor for people living on either side,” Ms Box says.

She and Mr Main insist that locals get a say on how their street is handled.

Reduce congestion

Announced by WA transport minister Dean Nalder in October, the plan for a $31 million bus bridge (to go from Charles Street, over the freeway into the city) and bus lanes down Charles Street is intended to improve travel times and reduce congestion.

It’s estimated the plan will save 16,000 bus passengers an average of six minutes each by providing a better “exit strategy” from the CBD.

“This is a great congestion-beater for our city,” Mr Nalder said in October.

“It’s better for motorists and bus users.”

The key concerns for Ms Box and Mr Main is the six-lane plan — two of them dedicated bus lanes — doesn’t include trees or a median strip (it’s already a nightmare for pedestrians) and includes only narrow footpaths.

“We’d like consultation,” Mr Main says, “to develop a decent plan for Charles Street and not in a peacemeal fashion.”

Ms Box, who runs the Facebook page Bike Friendly Vincent, says freeing up lanes for cars will inevitably bring more.

Construction is planned to start in May and Ms Box and Mr Main are urging any interested locals to get in touch with them at boxgeraldine1@gmail.com or andrew.main@optusnet.com.au to find out more.

by DAVID BELL