Churchlands Green trials concluded ahead of Council decision

City of Stirling officers will recommend to Council next week that the final outcome of the Churchlands Green Traffic Management trial be a permanent ban on right turn from Pearson Street into Alumni Terrace (Trial 2 Phase One option).
 
This matter has been outstanding for some time with the local community making representations to the City and Council over many years.  A report was presented in May 2020, articulating concerns regarding the increasing volume of non-local traffic travelling through the Churchlands Green residential subdivision, particularly along University Avenue and Alumni Terrace. Data showed 71 per cent of traffic captured in the City’s initial data collection was non-local traffic.
 
Since then, the City has undertaken extensive trials and public consultations to better understand the impacts of introducing traffic management into the Churchlands Green Estate as follows:

• Trial 1 included the closure of the left turn from University Avenue into Empire Avenue, closure of the left turn from Alumni Terrace into Pearson Street, and closure of the right turn from University Avenue into Alumni Terrace (this option was developed by several members of the community).

Based on the feedback and secondary impacts of Trial 1 a second trial was implemented with the following phases:

• Trial 2 Phase One restrictions involved a right turn ban from Pearson Street into Alumni Terrace
• Trial 2 Phase Two restrictions included an additional right turn ban from Empire Avenue into University Avenue.

The City has now compared all data collected from this trial and is ready to recommend to Council that the right turn ban from Pearson Street into Alumni Terrace be made permanent.
 
Director Infrastructure Michael Littleton said City officers had reached the conclusion that the data and consultations led to only one viable option.
 
“As a local government we have a responsibility to manage our local road network, and to make choices and decisions based on the best possible information and analysis, as well as in consultation with the people affected by those decisions,” he said.
 
“The proposed solution addresses the residents’ concerns of non-local traffic, with the traffic volumes on the two main local access roads reducing by around two-thirds of their pre-trial levels.
 
“This option was also considered to work well by the majority of respondents during the City’s consultation; 37 per cent said the trail of right turn ban from Pearson Street to Alumni Terrace went ‘extremely well or very well’, and 20 per cent said it went ‘reasonably well or well’.
 
“Now is the time to report back to Council with the findings of the two trials and allow Elected Members to weigh the benefits and consequences of all options. Whilst we had sought to hold the matter over until November, recent feedback from the affected community sought clarity and certainty from Council and on that basis, the matter will be presented directly to Council at the next available opportunity.”
 
The report and recommendation will come to the next Council meeting held at 7.00pm, Tuesday 28 September 2021 in Council Chambers. Public question time will be extended to enable community members to express their views via the public question time process.