5 years ago
INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
THE HON ANTHONY ALBANESE MP
A Shorten Labor Government will invest $23 million towards a new Swan River crossing at the Causeway to boost access and safety for cyclists and pedestrians going to and from Perth CBD.
Western Australians need real change – because more of the same isn’t good enough.
The new Causeway Cycle Bridge will create a free-flowing bicycle expressway to fix what has become a major bottleneck at the third busiest cycling route in Perth.
While the existing Causeway has a shared cycling and pedestrian path, it is narrow and too many cyclists are tempted to use the road to avoid pedestrians, creating safety risks.
The heritage status of the Causeway means it cannot be widened, so a Shorten Labor Government would work with the McGowan Government to build a dedicated cycling bridge expected to cost up to $30 million.
More than 1300 cyclists and 1000 pedestrians use the same narrow Causeway path each day. The new bridge will make crossing the causeway safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and in the process, make cycling and walking a more attractive option for commuters.
Today’s announcement is part of Federal Labor’s $260 million National Bike Paths Strategy and follows another Federal Labor commitment from Kim Travers in Pearce to spend $4.5 million on completing the cycling loop through the iconic Swan Valley tourism region.
These commitments are part of Federal Labor’s comprehensive Western Australian Infrastructure Plan, which will see a Shorten Government invest $460 million more in the West than a re-elected Morrison Government over the next four years.
Labor’s Plan will create a safer and more productive transport network with the capacity to meet the needs of West Australians while also underpinning economic and jobs growth in the nation’s largest State.
In Perth, our planned investments in better roads and more public transport will make a real difference in tackling traffic congestion, which is eroding quality of life and acting as a handbrake on productivity.
More broadly, our road investments across the state will expedite the movement of goods and people, supporting business growth and regional economic development.
Labor will deliver more projects and do it sooner because, in contrast to Scott Morrison and the Liberals, our funding will not be off in the Never Never.
Key elements of Labor’s WA Infrastructure Plan include:
- METRONET to deliver 72 kilometres of new passenger rail line and up to 18 new stations across Perth, unlocking the potential of more than 5,000 hectares for investment in housing, jobs and services for growing communities.
- Upgrading and extending the Tonkin Highway to enhance road safety and ease congestion across Perth’s eastern and southern suburbs.
- Expansion of the Mitchell Freeway, which is one of Perth’s busiest roads and is used by up to 140,000 vehicles per day.
- Widening further key sections of the Kwinana and Mitchell Freewaysand installing an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) (“Smart Freeways”) to further improve traffic flow and ease congestion.
- Installing grade separated interchanges at the intersections of Roe Highway and Great Eastern Highway Bypass and Abernethy Road and Great Eastern Highway Bypass.
- Extending Stephenson Avenue north from its intersection with Scarborough Beach Road to the Mitchell Freeway and construction of a new freeway interchange, unlocking up to 95 hectares of land for housing and commercial developments.
- Delivering a new traffic and rail bridge at Fremantle, duplicating the existing rail capacity and separating passenger and freight rail, encouraging even more freight off the roads and onto rail.
- Constructing an interchange at the intersection of Leach Highway over Welshpool Road, including duplication of the Highway rail over-bridge south of the interchange, to increase the Highway’s long-term capacity.
- Extending Lloyd Street to directly link Midland with Hazelmere’s industrial areas, helping to ease localised congestion.
- Expanding the Park and Ride facility at Mandurah railway station with a new 1,000 bay multi-level car park.
- Upgrading Abernethy Road (Kewdale).
- Eliminating all six level crossings on the inner Armadale line between Victoria Park and Beckenham, including the crossings at Oats Street, Welshpool Road, Mint Street, Hamilton Street, Wharf Street and William Street.
- Delivering the first stage of the Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation,which will link the South Western Highway to Pinjarra-Williams Road, redirecting heavy vehicle traffic around the eastern side of the Pinjarra town centre.
- Building the Albany Ring Road to improve access to the Port and take heavy vehicles off local streets.
- Completing Stages 2 and 3 of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road.
- Delivering targeted upgrades to the Karratha to Tom Price Corridor to better connect regional communities, provide a more reliable and safer road network, and improve access for heavy vehicles.
Over six years of cuts and chaos, the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has failed West Australians when it comes to infrastructure investment.
As soon as they took office, the Liberals scrapped the former Federal Labor Government’s plans to improve public transport and instead wasted time and money over the dud Perth Freight Link proposal.
WA needs a Federal Labor Government to end the cuts, end the chaos and build a better, more efficient transport network.
End the chaos. Vote for change. Vote for Labor.
Funding for this commitment has been included in Labor’s Fair Go Budget Plan, available at http://www.alp.org.au/labors_fiscal_plan.