Sydney’s Inner Western suburbs are well known as having the worst traffic congestion in Australia. However, Perth residents living South of the River may soon be vying for this unenviable title, if the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) gets its way.

Independent Member for Alfred Cove, Dr Janet Woollard, says that WAPC, the City of Melville and the City of South Perth are behind the newly revised “Canning Bridge Vision” which outlines a long term vision for the Canning Bridge area of Applecross and South Perth.

The Vision, which has now been approved by the Planning Minister seeks to create 2500 new residences on the Applecross side of Canning Bridge, with additional retail outlets in the area aiming to attract up to 10000 new employees.  The Vision aims to encourage greater housing density along the freeway in a catchment area of 1.5km. 

Dr Woollard said one of her greatest concerns was the fact that WAPC intended to implement the Vision with little consideration as to the current or future infrastructure needs of the area.  

“There is currently no provision for improving the freeway, increasing public transport needs or addressing any other infrastructure improvements,” Dr Woollard said.

“The WAPC has not given a commitment that it will implement any measures that are designed to address, the already serious problem, of traffic congestion.

“The WAPC appears to be focused on increasing the population density in a particular area but not on addressing any of the problems that will go along with it.”

Dr Woollard said commuters could look forward to an estimated 7000 additional cars coming to and from the area - just from new residences on the Applecross side alone.

“If people think the Kwinana Freeway and Canning Bridge are congested now, the delays will be much longer in the future,” she said.

Dr Woollard said it was shameful that the Canning Bridge Vision not only had the potential to destroy the lifestyle for people living in the South Perth and Applecross areas, but to negatively impact on every commuter living south of the river.

“I am not aware of any other area being targeted to this degree,” she said.

“The Minister and the WAPC have made a potentially disastrous decision for every south of the river resident.

“The traffic congestion that is now a notorious part of West Sydney’s problems will become an everyday part of life for people here.”

Dr Woollard said the WAPC’s approach was contrary to many of the underlying principles of the nation’s first population strategy, the “Sustainable Australia Sustainable Communities”, which was released by the Federal Population Minister, Tony Burke, on 13 May 2011.

The population strategy emphasizes the need for more infrastructure and for measures to help those people that are living on the outer suburban fringes to travel to their work more easily. It rejects the notion that high density and population growth is necessarily a good thing. 

Minister Burke said that we should reject putting economic expansion ahead of all other concerns, saying an increase in population “needs to work at the community level”.

Dr Woollard said that the Canning Bridge Vision simply did not work at the community level.

“Changes in the planning and development of an area need to be well managed to avoid negative impacts on the amenity and quality of life in our communities,” she said.

“This is not the case with the Canning Bridge Vision where the future vitality, sustainability and success of our community is in doubt.

“This is simply growth for growth's sake.

“I am disappointed that neither the Minister nor the WAPC have been able to see that.”

Attached Media: 

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