FAQs

A substantial proportion of all crash risks, including fatalities and serious injury crashes, are represented on local roads and intersections, which are funded and managed by Local Governments. To improve the safety of these roads for local communities, the State Government has implemented a four-year Low Cost Urban Road Safety Program (Low Cost URSP). 

The program delivers treatments to local roads, on an area-wide or whole-of-street basis, to reduce crash risks for drivers and vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists. The Low Cost URSP is fully-funded and supported by the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Road Safety through a $16 million commitment via the Road Trauma Trust Account. As the State Government agency leading the program, Main Roads Western Australia (Main Roads) has invited Local Government to work in collaboration to implement the program. 

In summary the Low-Cost URSP aims to:

• Actively identify and prioritise local neighbourhood areas with a higher-than-average casualty crash history and provide funding (through reimbursement of cost and payments) for the design and construction of road treatments that reduce fatalities and/or serious injury on an area wide or whole-of-street approach 
• Bring widespread safety benefits and amenity gains for the community.
• Design and install low-cost road treatments that can improve the safety of roads and intersections and reduce crashes that impact our community, including mini roundabouts, compact roundabouts, uncontrolled pedestrian crossing facilities, raised safety platforms, speed humps, entry statements and other minor road features.
• Reduce the likelihood of traffic incidents on local roads across the metropolitan area.

This project is funded by the Main Roads under their Low Cost Urban Road Safety Program.

The Low Cost URSP aims to actively identify and prioritise local neighbourhood areas with a higher-than-average casualty crash history and provide funding (through reimbursement of cost and payments) for the design and construction of road treatments that reduce fatalities and/or serious injury on an area wide or whole-of-street approach – bringing widespread safety benefits and amenity gains for the community.

Drawing on lessons learnt from pilot projects conducted in 2020/21, Main Roads and the City of Fremantle have identified and prioritised the locations and treatments proposed, using criteria already established. Main Roads will cover all design and construction costs, via reimbursement, while the City will be responsible for a range of activities, including the costs associated with those, including: 

• community consultation; 
• design drawing approvals; 
• procurement of works; 
• delivery of treatments (project management); 
• evaluation (data collection pre and post treatment) and reporting; and 
• ongoing maintenance.

City officers have selected these neighbourhood locations through discussion with Main Roads WA out of a list of nominated local Fremantle areas where higher than average crash history and/or high traffic flow has been identified. The proposed traffic safety treatment works to the streets west of Horrie Long Reserve and north of Stevens Street satisfy the criteria of their Low-Cost Urban Road Safety Program and have been highlighted as areas of priority by Main Roads and City staff.

Other Fremantle neighbourhoods and streets may be identified and selected by Main Roads WA for future rounds of the Low-Cost URSP and would proceed with a similar process of community engagement before completion.

Treatments will only be installed on an area-wide or whole-of-street basis, as changes are shown to enhance the fabric of the neighbourhood and the road environment, which research indicates encourages safe road user behaviour and improves amenity. This may result in the introduction of lower speed limits in some areas where treatments are installed

Regular spacing of treatments is performed to reduce speed fluctuations along the street. This reduces the overall speeds vehicles can achieve, reducing the likelihood and severity of crashes. It also discourages use by non-local through traffic, improving amenity of the area.

The proposed placement and repetition of the same types of traffic calming treatments in each neighbourhood aims to create a simple, coherent approach across the City, so that drivers in Fremantle become accustomed to these familiar devices and aware that they are travelling in a local residential area.

The Horrie Long Reserve and Stevens Street neighbourhoods have been selected as priority areas identified under the first round of the Low Cost URSP allocated to the City of Fremantle.

If further funding is made available in the future, subsequent locations will be determined based on crash history and other selection criteria for a similarly small area/s that may not be eligible for other external road safety improvement funding.