Upgrade to busy carpark

A carpark which enters on to a busy street in Bridgetown will receive upgrades to increase visibility and safety for drivers as part of the Shire’s new strategic community plan. The project aims to improve drivers’ ability to see oncoming traffic leaving the Civic Centre carpark on to Steere Street. The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes’ proposed plans involve removing two existing car bays on Steere Street, implementing a give way sign at Stewart Street, fixing an incorrectly placed holding line, also on Stewart Street, and removing a pedestrian island on the South side of Steere Street. The carpark itself will have bay sizes increased and have line markings put in to signal a two-way flow of traffic. To make up for the reduction of two car bays on Steere Street, five additional bays will be added to Stewart Street. The project will cost around $20,000. Originally set aside in the 2019/2020 budget for construction, this money has now been factored into the 2021/2022 budget. Shire president John Nicholas said the plans had been in the works for a few years and he was glad to have the funding to be able to increase the safety surrounding the carpark and adjacent streets. “Where you enter Steere Street from Stewart Street there is a very significant line of obstruction with parking bays ... we’re upgrading the carpark in terms of getting it back to how it should be and trying to eradicate those blind spots which were created on Steere Street itself,” he said. “It’s been really great we’ve been able to get and secure additional funding to make (the revamps) actually happen.” Upgrades to the area were first raised by the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes’ access and inclusion committee when a safety assessment was carried out in August 2017 and found sight distances in both directions leaving the carpark were well below minimum Main Roads WA standards. In March 2019 the project was opened to community consultation, with those submissions presented to the council in November the same year.