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Fresh approach urged on transport priorities

State Government funding into transport infrastructure needs to be turned on its head if Perth is to avoid congestion mayhem in the coming years, experts have warned.

Trevor Shilton, director of cardiovascular health at the Heart Foundation, said the current model of funding needed to be flipped upside down.

"Instead of spending money firstly on roads, then public transport, cycling and walking we need to see governments spend in the opposite order - walking, cycling, public transport and then roads," he said.

"We also need to build and design our cities and suburbs to reflect these priorities.

"Widening roads to combat congestion is like loosening your belt to combat obesity - it won't solve the problem."

The Heart Foundation, with State Government and planning bodies, yesterday launched an online tool for urban development in Perth.

The Healthy Active by Design website, the first of its kind in Australia, provides practical guidance, checklists and case studies to help planners, urban designers and the public about healthy town planning.

Planning Institute of Australia WA executive officer Emma de Jager said well-designed neighbourhoods increased the number of people who walked or cycled that made for a more socially inclusive and vibrant community.

Mr Shilton said urban design was inextricably linked to community health issues including obesity, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

"With our ageing population and high prevalence of obesity, failure to plan properly now will only see a rise in chronic disease and its associated costs," he said.

Rodney Tolley, director of Walk21, an organisation which raises international awareness of walking said if Perth refused to embrace change now, the city would eventually reach a point where all the money in the public coffers would need to be spent on health and illness.

"Many societies around the world are already approaching this point - Perth needs to act now to avoid the same fate," Dr Tolley said.

Figures show 63 per cent of West Australians are overweight or obese.