Concept plan for William St walkers

THE City of Perth has drawn up a draft concept plan to improve William Street between Wellington Street and Mounts Bay Road to coincide with construction work associated with the city section of the new southern suburbs railway. Lord Mayor Dr Peter Nattrass said William Street had long been a busy pedestrian thoroughfare and the aim was to make it more attractive and pedestrian friendly. Included in the concept plan are strategies to discourage excessive ‘through traffic’ in the city centre and improved pedestrian safety and amenity. It is planned to reduce the number of traffic lanes from four to three and to widen footpaths. The city will consult with stakeholders, including business and property owners in William Street. Dr Nattrass said the construction for two underground train stations and the demolition of a bridge at the river end of William Street leading onto the freeway were expected to reduce the number of cars using William Street as a major thoroughfare. “The trend in modern cities is to reduce the volume of traffic on city streets and to make them more pedestrian friendly,” Dr Nattrass said.