The City of Bunbury has confirmed it has begun exploring options to transform two of Bunbury’s busiest roads around the CBD.
City officers have started analysing plans to change sections of Blair Street and Casuarina Drive, close to the roundabout linking the two, from four lanes to two.
City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan said they would be working towards finding the best outcome for the area.
“What might happen is instead of having two lanes each way we might narrow them down to one,” he said.
“Our engineers are looking at ways of modifying.”
Mr Brennan said the officers would also explore ways of helping people safely cross over Blair Street and Casuarina Drive.
“At the moment, people have got to get across four lanes of traffic in Blair Street and it’s the same on Casuarina, close to the roundabout,” he said.
“Our engineers are looking at ways of linking pedestrians from the foreshore redevelopment, and that includes Casuarina and Koombana, into the CBD safely.”
While he couldn’t confirm, Mr Brennan anticipates the lanes would change from the Stirling Street intersection and would go as far up as Vat 2 restaurant on Casuarina Drive.
Mr Brennan said the city should have an idea of what could be done within the next six months.
“It will include a lot of work from our engineers, and a lot of consultation because some businesses in our CBD still rely on heavy transport vehicles getting in,” he said.
“We have got to make sure we don’t impede that, so there is a lot to consider.
“You’ve got to marry the two demands – pedestrian safety and also traffic movement.”
GoGeo general manager Emma Nesbitt said there was a disconnect between the foreshore redevelopment, Marlston retail precinct and the CBD.
“Connecting all areas of activity, particularly at the northern end of Casuarina Drive and between Koombana foreshore and the CBD where there are still discussions around a future passenger train terminal near the roundabout, is crucial for increasing visitation into the city,” she said.
“We look forward to seeing the future plans from the city on the proposed road changes.”
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