A Funny Thing Happened At the DesignFreo Forum - conversations and carmageddon

Thursday night 27 November at Notre Dame Tannock Hall for DesignFreo Community Forum: Fremantle Bridge closure – opportunity or carmageddon?

An excellent evening indeed to attend a community forum filled with friendly locals and talk about transport planning.

The engaging talk was organised by DesignFreo and facilitated by DesignFreo’s Pippa Hurst, an echo of their previous forum on the Fremantle Traffic Bridge replacement five years ago.

Many issues raised then remain outstanding.

When the bridge closes for a year, what happens to traffic?

Community members during question time expressed nowhere near enough has been done to deal with the gridlock already eventuating, to support affected businesses, and promote alternative transport modes. The status quo, including an incomplete PSP network, cyclists at risk of falling over low railings or squeezing past each other on crosswalks in the path of trucks, taking an hour to travel only a few kilometres in traffic, and enduring all this without a CAT bus is unacceptable. More communication with the State Government needs to make it clear that greater funding and collaboration with locals are required.

Perhaps one good way to do it is to attend the local pop up stalls hosted by Main Roads and the Fremantle Bridge Alliance at Fremantle Library, North Fremantle Bowls Club, or Old Bridge Cellars tomorrow evening?

While Fremantle members Josh Wilson MP (who we understand was an apology on the night) and Simone McGurk MLA were unable to attend, we were very lucky to hear from City of Fremantle Councillor Melanie Clark, East Fremantle councillor Rebecca Cutter (an avid cyclist with a shocking cautionary tale), Dr Annie Matan from FreoBUG (Bicycle Users Group), and even former Mayor and now Greens MP Dr Brad Pettit who kindly held the fort and gave us an overview of the Clean Freight initiative based on his own work on it during the Council days until Mayor Ben Lawver arrived following a school meeting.

There is clear consensus from tonight’s audience echoed by the speakers including Dr Annie Matan: communities feel ignored and dismissed by the State Government. We have lost our CAT bus yet areas such as Scarborough have transit fully funded by the State. Main Roads has vast, unchecked power and prioritises cars to the exclusion of all other commuters yet due to their own staffing shortages their assessment timeframes for locally proposed solutions are slow and protracted. Cycling in North Fremantle is unsafe and getting worse with the Fremantle Traffic Bridge works. This feedback has been provided consistently for decades and has fallen on unsympathetic ears. But there are many small interventions, or “low hanging fruit”, that could be implemented even on a trial basis to improve the matter, argues Dr Annie Matan from FreoBUG. That includes “wombat crossings”, shared “slow streets”, and better wayfinding signage. Our recent write up by Shipping News editor Michael Barker provides further detail here.

FreoBUG’s petition to Parliament closes this Monday 1 December 2025 so get in there quick. They are also keen for you to add your ideas to their map on how to make movement safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Councillor Clark presented a series of compelling statistics regarding commuter shift to public transport during the summer month of free transit (up by 35%!) and what this could look like for Fremantle (potentially up to 2000 cars off the roads, imagine that). Commentary during the night argued that following the example of other local governments in lowering speeds for local roads could help to make conditions significantly safer.

There is currently a strong risk of ratrunning if no further action is taken, and while the State Government has proudly announced there will be a sliver of free bus transit from Duoro Road along South Terrace to Fremantle Train Station, that leaves us asking “what about all the other major bus routes?” Why can’t we have free transit throughout the bridge works?

Because they are worried that trains and buses will exceed capacity if they make it free, Main Roads informs us.

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t read the words with my own eyes. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I spot the 502 sailing by my window, empty again.

Meanwhile, there is an opportunity to significantly reduce traffic demand, noise, and emissions in freight trucks. The Clean Freight initiative seeks to ban older, inefficient trucks from Fremantle Ports, shift containers from trucks to rail, increase their container capacity by an additional container beyond the maximum of three, and ensure that trucks travelling to and fro don’t run empty.