Healthy Streets Assessments

Healthy Streets Assessments identify design aspects that are insufficient in catering for basic human needs and aim to prioritise people walking and cycling.

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Healthy Streets Assessments – Cottesloe and Maylands

The Goal

In the knowledge that approximately 3,500 crashes occurred on local streets between 2015 and 2019, Main Roads WA has initiated the Low Cost Urban Road Safety Program to assist local government in funding upgrades to identified high risk areas. As local streets cater for much more than simply moving vehicles, Main Roads WA are proactively investigating alternative methods for arriving at safety solutions that consider the impact of design interventions on all users. Main Roads WA were attracted to the Healthy Streets approach for this reason and, with the support from the Town of Cottesloe and City of Bayswater, elected to progress with two Healthy Streets assessment programs as a trial for its application elsewhere.

The Cottesloe project is used as it demonstrates how the approach can be applied in a suburban and established residential setting, while the Maylands Activity Centre streets are used to demonstrate how the findings can assist at the Precinct scale.

Our Role

Together with PJA, TBB’s commission for both the Maylands and Cottesloe projects includes a spatial assessment, a connectivity assessment, and a local street level assessment utilising the Design Check Tool for Australia.

PJA and TBB presented the key findings of their assessment during separate workshops on both projects. Eric Denholm (TBB) and Tim Judd (PJA) worked with Lucy Saunders, the founder of Healthy Streets in the UK, to formulate the approach, conduct workshops and present the findings. Lucy participated in both workshops.

The Outcome

Main Roads WA will use the findings to inform a design brief for the next phase of detailed work. The assessment assisted in broadening the scope of interventions available to local government, such that design elements consider the impact on walking and cycling.