Freo eyes walker-friendly city
Speed limits in parts of Fremantle could fall to as low as 10km/h and walkers could be encouraged to share the road with motorists under plans to make pedestrians king in the port city.
Motorists have been warned to expect a "slower, less free-flowing way through the central city in the future" as part of an ambitious City of Fremantle draft transport strategy.
On-street parking could also be reclaimed in favour of wider footpaths or green space and developers encouraged to build "car-free" homes.
The long-term strategy is underpinned by the desire to move away from cars as the dominant form of transport, instead prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport - in that order.
Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt said he did not want to make the city centre car-free but encourage walking or cycling where possible and for users to share road infrastructure where viable.
"One of Fremantle's great upsides is that it was designed before the car - we're a city that was designed around walking, horses, bicycles and trams, so that forms the bones of a very walkable city and I think its future lies in reinstating some of that," he said.
"At the heart of the strategy is to make motorists not want to drive into the centre. Not so that people can't drive in, but we need people to park on the outside (of the city) and walk in and see it as a really friendly walking zone."
Among other things, the strategy proposes increasing the number of 30km/h zones in the city and introducing 10km/h "shared-use zones", where pedestrians, cyclists and cars would be encouraged to share the road and move at the same pace.
The council hopes to make Market Street the first such zone as soon as by the end of the year.
Dr Pettitt said Fremantle's cappuccino strip, where a 30km/h limit was recently introduced, was a logical candidate for a 10km/h zone in the future.
Parts of the Kings Square project were also earmarked for shared-use zones. Implementing 30km/h and 10km/h zones would need Main Roads approval.
"In a shared-use area everyone has equal access to that road space," Dr Pettitt said.
The strategy will go to council tomorrow night and is recommended to be released as a draft for community consultation.
