Perth: Street renewal project

Whatley Crescent, Maylands, Perth, Australia (proposal)

Main Roads WA commissioned Healthy Streets Ltd, Taylor Burrell Barnett and PJA to develop a proposal for Maylands towncentre in Perth.

Maylands is a suburban centre preparing for an increase in people walking and cycling linked to improved train services and a Principle Shared Path. This is an opportunity to make this local centre a more vibrant place with healthier and more accessible streets.

Through a series of workshops with the local community and elected members plus of course detailed analysis using Healthy Streets tools we developed proposals that set the bar for a new level of ambition in street design in WA.

Community workshop to develop proposals for redesigning neighbourhood streets

Whatley Crescent is one of the four streets which are being considered for improvements in this neighbourhood. The others are Seventh Avenue, Eighth Avenue and Guildford Road.

Whatley Crescent serves many functions. It is a through-route for cars, it is the ‘gateway’ to Maylands towncentre and it is a transport interchange with train, bus and cycle routes stopping here. While it is popular location with thriving shops and cafes, at present it does not serve the many people using it too well.

Cars can travel through at 60km/h which is intimidating for people walking on the narrow footpaths with no buffer and those trying to cycle on the street. The junctions are not safe for people cycling on foot or by bike and the street is not ready for the anticipated increase of people passing through and stopping by in the coming years.

The Design Check does highlight some of the positives including available drinking water, some shade, public seating, cycle parking and street lighting. These are important assets to retain and enhance where possible.

The Healthy Streets Design Check Australia is used to quantify how ‘healthy’ a street layout is using 19 metrics. This tool scores Whatley Crescent 21 out of 100 at present. This is not atypical for a street of this kind in Australia but it falls far below the standard we should expect, even on a through-route for cars.

Our proposal included wider footpaths, a calmer driving environment, safer and more convenient crossing facilities and more trees. This brings the score up to 49 out of 100.

Whatley Crescent Healthy Streets Score for existing street and proposed layout

Detailed designs are currently being made with a planned start for delivery in 2025. You can read much more about the project and download the reports here