Safe Active Street Program - Elizabeth Street and Jenkins Avenue

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Works have now concluded.

The City is progressing with a proposal to modify Jenkins and Elizabeth Streets to implement a safe active street project for the residents of Nedlands.

The project is being undertaken in partnership with the Department of Transport as part of their Safe Active Street Program to deliver safer and more people-friendly active streets. This project starts from the Town of Claremont boundary at Bay Road, along Jenkins Avenue to Dalkeith Road, to connect with Elizabeth Street and stopping at the Broadway intersection with Elizabeth Street (City of Perth boundary).

The project follows on from other projects recently constructed by the Department of Transport in Shakespeare Street, Mount Hawthorn; Leake Street and May Street in Bayswater and Surrey Road in Belmont. The outcomes of these projects are influencing the best design solution for the City of Nedlands' project.

The focus on the design is based around safety, residential amenity and users of the streets to provide a safer road environment for everyone. The design establishes a higher priority for pedestrians and bike riders (of all ages) but does not reduce the amenity for the vehicle driver by changing intersection priorities and creating a 30kmh low-speed environment.

The Council endorsed the community engagement report and the amended concept designs at its meeting on 26 June 2018. The amended concept designs resulted from feedback received from the engagement activities.

Further specific engagement on the proposed detailed design (at 85% completion) has been undertaken with residents, schools and other stakeholders.

The City has now completed the designs and the tendering process for construction has been completed.

How can you get involved, find out more or provide feedback?

  • Review the information, FAQs and designs in the document library
  • Ask us a question by using the Ask Us a Question tab and we will respond
  • Contact a member of the Project Design Team (see Who's Listening on this page)
  • Read the updates below as the project progresses
  • If you have not already done so, please register using the Register to get Involved tab above. It is important that you register to enable you to receive ongoing updates on the project.

The City is progressing with a proposal to modify Jenkins and Elizabeth Streets to implement a safe active street project for the residents of Nedlands.

The project is being undertaken in partnership with the Department of Transport as part of their Safe Active Street Program to deliver safer and more people-friendly active streets. This project starts from the Town of Claremont boundary at Bay Road, along Jenkins Avenue to Dalkeith Road, to connect with Elizabeth Street and stopping at the Broadway intersection with Elizabeth Street (City of Perth boundary).

The project follows on from other projects recently constructed by the Department of Transport in Shakespeare Street, Mount Hawthorn; Leake Street and May Street in Bayswater and Surrey Road in Belmont. The outcomes of these projects are influencing the best design solution for the City of Nedlands' project.

The focus on the design is based around safety, residential amenity and users of the streets to provide a safer road environment for everyone. The design establishes a higher priority for pedestrians and bike riders (of all ages) but does not reduce the amenity for the vehicle driver by changing intersection priorities and creating a 30kmh low-speed environment.

The Council endorsed the community engagement report and the amended concept designs at its meeting on 26 June 2018. The amended concept designs resulted from feedback received from the engagement activities.

Further specific engagement on the proposed detailed design (at 85% completion) has been undertaken with residents, schools and other stakeholders.

The City has now completed the designs and the tendering process for construction has been completed.

How can you get involved, find out more or provide feedback?

  • Review the information, FAQs and designs in the document library
  • Ask us a question by using the Ask Us a Question tab and we will respond
  • Contact a member of the Project Design Team (see Who's Listening on this page)
  • Read the updates below as the project progresses
  • If you have not already done so, please register using the Register to get Involved tab above. It is important that you register to enable you to receive ongoing updates on the project.

Works have now concluded.

Do you have a question for the City in relation to this project?  If so, please ask us here and we will respond. To find out more, please visit one of the Community Information Sessions.

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    in the original designs for the Elizabeth Safe Active Street project, it appeared that all intersecting roads onto Elizabeth would be STOP signed. Instead, GIVE WAY signs are positioned. Given the number of drivers who either ignore or are not aware of the change of priority at many of the intersections, should there be STOP signs giving priority to Elizabeth Street?

    IS asked over 3 years ago

    Hi there, thank you for your enquiry. The use of stop signs and give way signs is determined by Australian Standards. Each intersection has been reviewed during design to determine the appropriate signage required which in this instance are give way signs. If you would like to discuss further, please email council@nedlands.wa.gov.au or call 9273 3500 and speak to the Project Team. 

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    Dear Sir/Madam. As requested for further information, I sent a email after receiving a letter, not on a council letterhead but from Maria Hulls, in the mail dated 20th Jan 2020. The email to one of the listed contacts, Shaun Lynchand ay WCP including copies of the page one story on the 18th Jan 2020 in the POST "On your bike. planners" if the design has been modified for Jenkins Street Nedlands to but to date, no reply. I did drive down Elizabeth Street recently and agree with the comments in the article. I actually have to move left over into what looked like a parking bays to allow a car to pass safety coming the opposite direction. Not sure if there were cars parked in these bays what would be the best course of action. If there is a rubbish truck doing it's rounds and cars parked in these bays, passing will not be an option. When it gets busy, like when school goes back soon, this is going to be a very dangerous stretch of road. I then read in the latest POST the council is committed to finishing this project as your already have the Federal funds. Can you please let me know if the design has been modified for Jenkins Street or you just going to proceed regardless? Andrew Packard

    AndrewPackard asked about 4 years ago

    Hi Andrew,
    A post construction safety audit has been conducted on Stage 1 by a Traffic Consultant, we are currently awaiting the final report however no safety issues have been identified with the designed road width of 4.5 metres. In the interim, the City will be progressing with Stage 1 of the project as designed. Kind Regards. 

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    Hi there, I live at 25 Elizabeth Street. I fully support this scheme, just have a question regarding the parking. At the moment there is a 3-hour limit outside our house. I see there will be more designated parking bays - will the 3-hour limit still apply? My position is that I hope the 3-hour limit remains, as otherwise the street becomes a car park for students at UWA. Thanks Simon

    Simon Zed asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question.  Yes, the parking times remain the same.

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    I agree with your other respondent that cyclists (including me) have no trouble riding up or down Jenkins Ave as it currently is. There is more difficulty turning into and out of Dalkeith Rd. (Fixing the parking problem in Dalkeith Rd is to me a greater priority.) Jenkins Ave is the main vehicle route to the lights at Dalkeith Rd and Stirling Highway. It's too slow for cars to be restricted to 30 kph. 40kph seems a better limit. Also Elizabeth St is rather steep for family cycling. Have you considered how the bikes will manage the intersection with Broadway and what route would they follow from there eastwards?

    M Ellis asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question. The 30 kmh vehicle speed and the change in priorities does not have an impact on travel time for motorists and reduces the likelihood of fatalities. 

    Access from Broadway is proposed to be closed to prevent potential rat runs and an additional footpath option is proposed for bike riders. The proposal also increases the amenity in Elizabeth Street.

    The eastwards route is to be determined by the City of Perth and the Department of Transport as this section is within the City of Perth council area.

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    Has any traffic modelling been done on how the Edward St and Princess St intersections will be affected by blocking the entry to Elizabeth St from Broadway? Especially Edward St, given that traffic already backs up to south of there along Broadway, mainly due to the bad redesign of the Stirling Hwy/Broadway intersection. Hopefully whoever was in charge of that has nothing to do with this proposal. How many accidents/incidents have been recorded along Elizabeth, Jenkins and Dalkeith? What have been the costs of any such incidents compared to the proposed budget of over $2m. What studies have been done to show that accidents are reduced by dropping the speed limit from 50 to 30?

    hay_five asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question. By blocking off access to Elizabeth Street, the City is preventing potential rat runs from major traffic flow onto the safe active street.  This increases the pedestrian amenity of Elizabeth Street. The street network in the area is in the form of a grid, as such, there are many alternative routes towards Stirling Highway.  

    Currently road speeds in Australian built-up urban areas are limited to around 50 kmh though of course there are many exceptions where limits are lower. Recent analysis of cycle deaths found that virtually all fatal collisions occurred on roads with a speed limit of 48kmh or higher. Excessive speed is a direct factor in about a fifth of all collisions and is a major contributory factor in a third of all road deaths.

    The likelihood of a fatality when hit by a car at different speeds has also been estimated:

    • Hit at 70 kmh, 90 per cent of pedestrians will be killed;
    • Hit at 50 kmh, 20 per cent of pedestrians will be killed;
    • Hit at 30 kmh, 3 per cent of pedestrians will be killed

    The Department of Transport are currently developing of a Safe Active Street Program. Lowering the speed to 30 kmh is one of the many attributes to the street that will achieve the Safe Active Streets Program goal.


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    What data is behind this proposal? I use both streets to ride my bike to various venues and have rarely seen any one else on a bike. There are a few who use Jenkins to travel to work early/late in the day. I have found the streets very safe for bikes as the stop signs seem to keep the number of cars to a minimum and the speeds low. As for pedestrians other than around the taylor and florence road shops predestrians are very rare.

    James asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your great question. The factors you mentioned is why the route has been chosen by the Department of Transport and the City of Nedlands. 

    The safe active street is for recreational pedestrians and bike riders. The Strava heat map has been assessed to determine where fast cyclists like to travel (please refer to the FAQs).  The City and the Department of Transport does not foresee their current route changing. The City's safe active street is a Department of Transport program to create a safer route for pedestrians and bike riders through Nedlands.  


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    Are young children currently permitted to ride their bikes un the footpaths?

    James asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question. Yes, children are allowed to ride their bicycles on footpaths.

    Some tips to share:

    • Slow down:  Ride to the conditions.  Slow down on footpaths and allow pedestrians right of way.
    • Ring your bell:  Let pedestrians know you are there by ringing you bell or politely calling out.
    • Pass with care:  Pass pedestrians with care and consideration.  Give them plenty of space when passing.

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    Could you please provide a copy of the traffic management study that would have been done to support this unacceptable proposal. In particular the impact this would have on the schools along Elizabeth Street.

    Andrew Pearce asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question. The design is at concept stage at this time. 

    The City is seeking community feedback to the Safe Active Street proposal before proceeding with detailed design. The impact on traffic is considered to be minimal as there is only one intersection in the vicinity of the schools that requires a priority change. 

    Clear benefits of the proposal are reduced speed on Elizabeth Street to 30 km/h and reduced speed on Webster Street as a result of the priority change.

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    The drawings are not clear at all as to which sections of these roads has been reduced to one way for car traffic. Can you please clarify where exactly it is one way

    Andrew Pearce asked about 6 years ago

    Thank you for your question.  All streets within this project will continue to be two-way streets, allowing vehicles to travel in both directions.

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    Good afternoon, You are currently undertaking carving up Jenkins Street with your "Safe Active Street" project so I was detoured on Monday morning, I live on the corner of Louise & Jenkins St, and was directed to drive down Elizabeth Street. This was a challenging drive to say the least, especially when another car came from the opposite direction, only to then be allowed increase my speed by 10km/hr from 30 to 40km/hr as I entered the 40 Km/hr school zone speed limit. Can you please pat the person responsible for this on the back and say "good job & well done" from me please. Better still, could I please have their contact details so I can congratulate them personally? Regards, Andrew Packard

    AndrewPackard asked about 4 years ago

    Hi Andrew,
    The City is aware of the change in speed from 30 kph to 40kph back to 30kph and it will be rectified by Main Roads WA when the line marking and signage are installed.

    Main Roads WA are the governing authority for lines and signs and the City cannot alter or remove any signage infrastructure without MRWA approval. Stage 1 of the Safe Active Streets section is currently being line marked and change out of signage will occur flowing that.