KEEP FULL ACCESS AT HALE & TONKIN

​

The planned upgrade of the Hale Road and Tonkin Highway intersection in Forrestfield has been on the books for several years. Expressions of Interest for the first stage of the project have now been called (October 2024).

​

The initial plan had no access off Tonkin Highway onto Hale Road at all. However, after significant community backlash, Labor backed down in 2020 to allow access to and from Hale Road from the Northern side of the intersection. This will only accommodate travel to and from Perth and the Northern suburbs.

​

Community concerns about the lack of a Southern access route from Hale Road onto / from Tonkin Highway have been raised by residents in the intervening period. These concerns have been ignored. Labor MP Stephen Price is on record confirming no South facing entry/exit for Tonkin Highway off Hale Road will be considered as part of the upgrade and people will just have to get used to using a different route.

​

This decision will exacerbate the already existing problem of people using surrounding streets such as Lewis Road as rat runs. Lewis Road and Welshpool Road East is already a dangerous intersection due to the high speed limit and its design.  Requiring traffic to use Welshpool Road East and Hale Road to access Wattle Grove and Forrestfield from the south will simply move the problem to that intersection.  Hartfield Road and other local community roads will also be heavily impacted.

 

It will also cause heavy vehicles coming from the South wanting to access or egress Forrestfield or Wattle Grove onto these same suburban residential roads, as well as the thousands of people using the sporting facilities at Hartfield Park, creating an unsafe urban environment that puts the community at greater risk.

​

Similarly, emergency services, such as ambulances and fire trucks (which almost all come from the south) will also be forced onto the same residential roads during emergencies. Police will primarily come from Forrestfield Police Station, but they also travel south at times and they too will have to take an alernate route.  This will cause unnecessary delays and in an emergency places lives at risk, when every second counts!

 

The Labor State Government has spent billions of dollars on their pet project, Metronet. The allocation for this entire project, which encompasses the upgrades of the Tonkin Highway over two stages is $368 million. 

 

The main reason for refusing to accommodate the wishes of the community cited by this government is cost and lack of space for an expanded design. By moving the Water Authority infrastructure from the southeast corner of the intersection, a southern exit route from Forrestfield can be installed. If you look at the Tonkin Highway/Kewdale Road South facing entry/exit roads it is clear a simpler design can be achieved within the same space without significant disruption to the surrounding area at Hale and Tonkin.

 

This government claims to have conducted extensive consultation and highlights the results of the community survey conducted in October 2021. Based on these responses they have used the figures to justify their decision not to include a southern entry/exit route. They only received 126 responses, hardly an indicative sample. You can find out more about this upgrade on the Main Roads WA website:

www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/projects-initiatives/all-projects/metropolitan/tonkin-highway-corridor/.

​

The bushland around the intersection is quite degraded and as part of the project there should also be significant environmental design to facilitate improved tree canopy and support for wildlife including the endangered Black Cockatoos. 

 

Please support our petition to send a message to this government that the residents of Forrestfield and Wattle Grove want and deserve a south facing exit and entry route included in this project. 

​

Regards 

​

George Tilbury

Liberal for Forrestfield