Southern Link Road

The Southern Link Road is a road extension project from Grey Street to Gerard Street providing a strong link to Albany Highway and the north-side of the railway line as part of the Canning City Centre Plan.

What’s New?

The clearing application for Stage 3 of the Southern Link Road project has been submitted to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER), which has triggered a referral to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The City is currently responding to requests for additional information from DWER and DCCEEW and is also working with Western Power to agree on the methodology for relocating their existing communications infrastructure within the project footprint.

Information on assessment processes and application documentation can be accessed on the DWER and DCCEEW websites.

Background

A road extension from Grey St to Gerard St will provide a strong link between Albany Highway and the north side of the railway line. The importance of the traffic link is demonstrated in the Movement Access and Parking Strategy (Jacobs, 2015). The future extension is subject to environmental approvals.

The approved Activity Centre Plan (2017) has changed from its first draft some years ago.

The City’s Activity Centre Plan still envisions the Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) as one of its main natural features. It forms the Conservation Precinct. Currently, the wetlands are fenced and managed by the landowner. Once completed, the City is proposing to manage the TEC to improve the quality of the site and increase environmental asset to the area.

The alignment of Southern link Road has been modified to reduce the impact on the existing vegetation. Its alignment has moved from being a straight line to a curved design, to reduce impact on the TEC site, land and vegetation. The width has also been reduced as much as possible to further reduce the impact. The proposed alignment now goes through mostly degraded vegetation.

The road will form a barrier to people, development, stormwater run-off, and protect vegetation. The City recognises the area is not suitable for any extra uses or development. These areas are important environmental assets. They will become accessible through sensitive planning of paths, fences and boardwalks if supported with approval from the relevant authorities.

Inside the TEC boundaries, no development (other than for the purposes of enhancing these assets) will be allowed. Structures such as viewing platforms and walkways may be supported with approval from the relevant authorities. Development outside the TEC boundary is subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

Due to the environmental importance of the TEC and current condition of native vegetation, the City has been liaising with the relevant environmental agencies. The City has been undertaking the relevant environmental studies to determine the environment impact of Stage 3, which will link Liege St and Grey St to Gerard St.

The indicative alignment of the road in the Activity Centre Plan depends on further studies and environmental approvals.