Council Minutes - Town of Cambridge

COUNCIL MINUTES
TUESDAY 28 AUGUST 2012
9 am and 4 to 6 pm) traffic volumes in this section of Cambridge St are similar to those
of this project area. A single lane roundabout at Simper Street intersection has been in
place for over 10 years without any evidence of undue congestion or impacts on
surrounding streets.
It is also relevant to note an extract from the technical notes accompanying the Town's
Access and Parking Strategy (Part One) adopted in 2011 which suggests a reduction in
traffic volumes over time will occur. The notes reflect that the through traffic projections
in commercial centres are based on a reduction of existing traffic by 20% over a 30 to
40 year period to 2050. The rationale for this is that car driver mode share is predicted
to reduce over time. The DoT's long term public transport plan is estimating that overall
car driver mode share for trips to Perth CBD will drop from 35% to 15% with public
transport mode share increasing from 50% to 70% of all trips. Given that a significant
percentage of traffic on Cambridge St and Railway Parade will have Perth CBD
destinations, a reduction in traffic volumes on these streets by 20% by 2040/2050 is a
reasonable assumption (as detailed in the Town's Access and Parking Strategy (Part
One)).
A suggestion has been put forward that a trial of the single lane each way is undertaken
and results produced before works are commenced. This is not recommended for the
following reasons:
• Cambridge Street in the Stage 1 area operates at present effectively as a one
lane in each direction due to on street parking in all but peak hour clearway
times. Hence, any major changes in overall traffic flow in the area would be
assumed to occur during the peak hours and not at other times;
• The traffic modelling in 2010 took into consideration what drivers may do as an
alternative to the clearway. It modelled a reduction of 100 vehicles per hour in the
peaks in Cambridge Street with an increase in the parallel section of Railway
Parade by 130 vehicles per hour. Increases in movements between Cambridge
Street and Railway Parade for connecting streets were modelled at +20 vehicles
per hour in the peak were predicted for Kerr Street and +50 vehicles per hour for
Blencowe Street and +10 vehicles per hour for Northwood Street (again all in the
peak hours only). Thus, there is a reasonable expectation and understanding that
exists regarding altered traffic flow;
• Implementation of any trial without implementing the full outcomes of the plan
(including the road markings for embayed parking and single lane tapers) would
be a misrepresentation of the actual impacts and prone to error in analysis;
• A minimum six month trial would need to occur, both to monitor impacts before
and after the trial;
• The cost of implementation, monitoring and analysis of results would be
considerable;
• Careful consideration was given by Council in adopting the WLPUDS in 2010 to
achieve a pedestrian friendly, low speed environment in the area. This was seen
as a fundamental outcome of the study;
• Cambridge Street at Wembley Town Centre operates effectively as a single lane
each way precinct without unacceptable impacts on surrounding streets. Thus the
concept is proven within Town of Cambridge.
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