Together, let’s make Fifth Avenue safer!

Hi, Dr Jags here. Recently, Main Roads WA sent out a letter to every household advising of impending changes to the Fifth Avenue and Leach Highway intersection. This has been met with significant community feedback – both for and against – and as your local member I want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have their say on this important proposal.

As a result, I have asked the Minister for Transport to put an immediate halt on proceedings so that we can get better community consultation to make the right decision. To do that, below we have created a survey that I humbly request you to please fill in.

We will act accordingly to deliver the preferred outcome for our amazing community. These upgrades have been brought about by rightly concerned residents wanting to ensure we improve the safety at this intersection – something that as a GP I can wholeheartedly relate to – but I also understand there is a key need for continued convenience.

We are hand delivering this survey to residents in Shelley and Rossmoyne, and you can opt to mail the completed form back to me, by emailing me a copy of the completed form, or by completing the survey online. Together we can make Fifth Avenue safer for our community!

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this key upgrade.

SITUATION BACKGROUND

Currently, the Fifth Avenue and Leach Highway intersection allows for vehicles to turn in and out with both a right-hand and left-hand turn. Our office has received a lot of correspondence from locals expressing their concerns about the safety at this intersection.

That’s why at the 2021 State Election the State Labor Government committed $5 million towards upgrading this crucial passage along Leach Highway – to ensure we can deliver an upgrade that is both safe and convenient for drivers and pedestrians.

In the lead up to the 2021 State Election we were drawn to the urgency and need to improve safety at this intersection. We had a large number of locals write to us to alert us to the potential danger at this intersection. 

Following consultation and investigation by Main Roads, the right-turn out of Fifth Avenue onto Leach Highway in particular has been identified as being extremely dangerous. As a result, Main Roads WA have suggested blocking off the right turn in to and out of Fifth Avenue. This suggestion has been met with considerable feedback both for and against in recent weeks. As a result we want to hear what the community preference is at this intersection.

An alternate option that we have at our disposal is to remove the dangerous right turn out of Fifth onto Leach Highway only, thereby keeping the right turn in from Leach Highway onto Fifth Avenue. Finally, there is also the option to leave the intersection as it is currently.

These options have been decided through consultation with key working groups and engagement with residents who had raised it with us as a key issue initially. This dates back to before the 2021 State Election. We understand that there is no one solution that will please everyone – however it is critical that we deliver the best outcome for our local community. One that focuses on safety but retains the convenience at this intersection. To do this though, we want to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to have their say.

To make sure that we achieve the best outcome possible, we need to hear everyone’s preference at this intersection.

Could you please let us know your preferred option by completing the survey questions above. It is hoped that one of these three options will deliver a safe and convenient experience in our community when travelling to and from Rossmoyne and Shelley.