By Shannon Beattie
Emergency stopping lanes on a section of the Kwinana Freeway could be opened to all traffic under a plan by Main Roads WA to ease congestion.
The proposal, known as ‘All Lanes Running’, will start with a trial of the northbound section of the freeway between Canning Highway to the Narrows Bridge.
Part of the emergency lane that could be opened to all traffic.
Dean Roberts, spokesperson for Main Roads, said that it is a proved way to manage congestion.
“All Lanes Running has been implemented in countries all over the world and in places such as Canada it has been a great success,” he said.
Some people have raised concerns over the problems the scheme might cause for emergency vehicles.
But, according to a spokesperson from St Johns Ambulance WA, they are not worried about the plan.
We have not noticed any major impacts on our response times since the closure of the emergency lanes on the Graham Farmer Freeway and we wouldn’t expect this closure to present as issue either,” the spokesperson said.
Main Roads is also not concerned about the possible safety issues that might arise from removing emergency lanes.
“There are already sections of the freeway, like the Narrows Bridge and the Northbridge Tunnel, that don’t have emergency lanes and there are ways of dealing with issues in these areas,” Mr Roberts said.
Main Roads plans to place emergency ‘pull off’ bays at regular intervals and push vehicles, similar to those used in the tunnel, could be brought in if necessary.
According to a study done by the Sunday Times, traffic congestion in Perth is linked to driver behaviour.
The study found two in three people would rather drive to work than use public transport and only one in ten of them is willing to car pool.
Riverton resident Shaun Farinha is so fed up with the increasing traffic that he’s considering moving his office.
“I drive from the southern suburbs to the city every day and I’m sick of the extra half an hour I need to add on to my journey,” he said.
If the trial goes ahead and is successful the plan could be extended to other sections of the freeway.
Main Roads is aiming to have the proposal finished within the next few weeks and it will then be passed onto Transport Minister Dean Nalder for consideration.