Fremantle Residents Demand Pedestrian Refuge at Dangerous High Street Intersection
Fremantle pedestrians have urgently called on the city council to address what they describe as a dangerous and busy corner where Amherst Street meets High Street. Residents report that too many people are currently taking their chances at this hazardous intersection, prompting a formal petition for immediate safety improvements.
Community Petition Highlights Safety Risks
High Street resident Lin Fritschi presented the petition to the Fremantle City Council during the February 25 ordinary meeting, specifically requesting the installation of a pedestrian refuge. Imagine you're walking up Amherst Street North and you reach High Street, standing on that corner, Ms Fritschi explained to council members. On your right, traffic comes from the roundabout, some still traveling at 70km/hr. It's really fast and dangerous there. On your left, there's a constant stream of traffic coming up from Fremantle.
Ms Fritschi detailed the particular challenges at this intersection: Amherst Street is a left turn only, but there's always cars illegally turning right. So on the corner, you're having to look left, right, behind you, across the road all the time and across four lanes of traffic. The intersection's location just after the High Street and Stirling Highway roundabout exacerbates these dangers.
Inadequate Existing Safety Measures
While traffic lights with pedestrian buttons exist further up High Street, Ms Fritschi emphasized they're too distant for practical daily use. It's 650m to the underpass, she noted. That means a detour of a kilometre and a half, which is quite a long way if you're trying to get to work. Even the closer pedestrian refuge 250m away represents what she called human nature in action: We've got 20m to cross this way, or a 500m detour. People are going to take chances, I take chances even though I'm very risk-averse. It's a dangerous place.
Simple Solution Proposed
Ms Fritschi advocated for what she described as a straightforward solution: The solution is simple. A small pedestrian refuge on the corner, in the intersection itself. She believes this modest infrastructure addition would significantly improve safety and potentially prevent something bad from occurring.
The community response has been overwhelmingly positive according to Ms Fritschi, who organized a complementary petition on Change.org on February 2. I did put up a petition and everyone I talked to about it thought it was a great idea, she reported. The businesses around the Fibonacci Centre are also very pro, they think it'll increase their business. She expressed hope that the council will take this seriously and consider the safety of pedestrians and cyclists by putting a pedestrian refuge there.
Council Response and Support
Councillor Melanie Clark voiced strong support for the petition during the meeting. I love it when people see a problem and bring a solution, Cr Clark stated. We will bring it to staff at the city. She acknowledged the intersection's particular dangers, noting: It is a very dangerous intersection. Once the roundabout was installed, I think it made it worse there for everyone crossing the road, and at the moment we've got all that redirected traffic because of the bridge works.
Cr Clark vividly described the crossing experience: It's like playing 'Frogger' with your life, trying to cross the four lanes and watching three different directions at once. The council has committed to considering the petition through proper channels, bringing the community's safety concerns to city staff for evaluation and potential action.
