FAQs

The Norfolk Neighbourhood is located between Fitzgerald Street, William Street, Walcott Street and Vincent Street. It's the area with local residential streets between the much busier 'distributor' roads. 

The Safe Active Street being considered would have a large portion of the route along Norfolk Street, and most streets within this area intersect with Norfolk Street.

The Safe Active Street might also connect to the intersection of Palmerston Street and Glendower Street, so we have also included a small area south of Vincent Street in the study zone.

Residents in the area have expressed concerns about an increase in motor vehicle traffic which has resulted in lower amenity and feeling less safe.

The proposed route would provide good walking and riding connections between the Hyde Park area and the schools north of Walcott Street, including Mount Lawley Senior High School.

The route is part of the Long-Term Cycle Network and is a logical north-south alternative which is safer than using Fitzgerald Street and William Street.

The Department of Transport and 32 local government authorities, including the City of Vincent, have collaborated to agree on a network of strategic cross-boundary routes that link parks, schools, community facilities and transport services. The aim is to make cycling a convenient and viable transport option.

The design phase of this project was jointly funded between the Department of Transport and the City of Vincent. Each stage of the project will be funded separately.

A feasibility study has been completed. This determined the best route and highlighted some of the improvements required. 

Community consultation took place in May 2022 and since then a 15% concept design was produced which was accepted by the Department of Transport who funded this stage of the project.

In May 2023, Vincent received a further grant to produce a detailed design. PJA consultants were appointed in December 2023. These designs have now been completed and are being shared with the local community.

No. The design stage has been completed and once we have considered and incorporated community feedback we will then seek funding for construction. 

Once funding is secured, a timeframe for construction will be developed.

The route being considered mostly runs through the centre of the Norfork Neighbourhood but there are twelve streets that intersect with the route. 

The project will offer an opportunity for residents to consider changes to each of these intersections that could improve safety, reduce rat-running and increase the number of trees in the area.

There is no fixed design for a Safe Active Street. There’s a range of improvements that can be incorporated to improve safety and make the street more appealing. 

Design can be tailored to suit the local environment and the circumstances of each neighbourhood. A range of ‘design tools’ can be used, these include:

• Raised platforms at intersections
• Additional tree planting to visually narrow the street
• Single-lane slow-points with additional vegetation
• Introducing new medians for safer pedestrian crossing
• Adding pocket parks which allow walking and riding connections
• Adding a diagonal diversion to four-way intersections to reduce driver rat-running and allow walking and cycling in all directions
• Raised pedestrian crossings at entry to streets

There are several Safe Active Streets in Western Australia, some completed, others still being developed. 

Locations include Bassendean, Bayswater, Geraldton, Nedlands, Melville and Mt Hawthorn. More information is available on the Department of Transport website.

With some Safe Active Street designs, car parking is rearranged, and trees are planted to reduce sightlines. This helps to slow drivers in residential streets. 

Completing a design for Norfolk Safe Active Street is part of our aim to make it safe, easy, environmentally friendly and enjoyable to get around Vincent. This means:

• Pedestrian and cycle networks are well designed, connected, accessible and encourage increased use. 
• Better integrated modes of transport and increased services through the City 
• Delivering alternative streetscapes that encourage pedestrian and cyclist activity. 
• Improving and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle support infrastructure.
• Prioritising pedestrians through safe streets, slower speeds and shared zones. 

In the City’s Accessible City Strategy, Action 4.1.2 states: 

‘Through consultation with key stakeholders, develop the City’s residential streets in line with the principles of Safe Active Streets with slow design speeds to promote safety and amenity’.  

The Bike Network Plan 2023-2028 confirmed Norfolk Street as a secondary route, with:  

Action 41 - to ensure a safe form of cycling crossing is provided across Vincent Street between Ethel and Throssell streets 

Action 42 - to investigate options to reduce the carriageway width of Glendower Street between Fitzgerald and Throssell streets to reduce vehicle speeds and rat running. 

The Safe Active Street design for Norfolk Street meets all of the requirements within these strategies and plans and is why the City has completed the current design project.

Community consultation in 2022 confirmed that pocket parks and partial road closures were supported.  

Traffic analysis confirms that these partial road closures reduce traffic volumes holistically within Local Roads however does increase traffic on District Distributor Roads such as Walcott, William, Vincent and Fitzgerald streets. 

Local Roads which will have increases in traffic numbers are Wasley, Marmion and Forrest streets. These are still within the 3,000 vehicles per day capacity for the road and are expected to drop over the months post construction.  

Crash data has been captured and overall, there will be a 10 per cent reduction of crashes. Crashes will be eliminated at the intersections of:

• Venn Street and Norfolk Street 
• Wasley Street and Norfolk Street
• Burt Street and Norfolk Street 

The severity of crashes is expected to drop at all intersections and at mid-blocks within the Norfolk Safe Active Street area given that all Local Roads have now been slowed to 40km/h and Norfolk Street will be slowed to 30km/h post-construction. 

The City has reviewed alternative options such as:

• Unprotected bike lane
• Protected bike lane
• Safe Active Street with no partial road closures

The unprotected bike lane is not supported by the Department of Transport. It would offer minimal safety benefits and require the removal of car parking bays. 

The protected bike lane is a viable option and would provide safety benefits as well as being a cheaper alternative for protecting cyclists. This concept was explored; however it would also mean the loss of parking bays and create an unsafe risk of ‘dooring’ from any parked cars remaining on the route. 

The Safe Active Street with no partial road closures is both viable and a cheaper option however it would mean losing the opportunity to:

• increase public space (eg pocket parks)
• improve drainage related to Sustainable Urban Drainage Design
• create a bike park
• eliminate and reduce severity of crashes.