A new 1.4km Principal Shared Path opened along Perth’s northern freeway on Saturday 16 May, giving walkers and riders a safer and more connected way to travel into the city. The opening also closes a long-standing missing link in Perth’s northern suburbs active transport network.
Barry Perry said the shared path is a practical step for people making their daily trips and keeping active on the move. He said providing a shared route for cyclists and pedestrians is great for encouraging local residents to keep active on their commute.
The new connection is part of the Stephenson Avenue Extension project and runs with a brightly coloured pedestrian underpass that gives users a safer and more direct route underneath Stephenson Avenue. Delivery of the path required close coordination across construction, drainage, lighting and landscaping, a reminder that the cleanest-looking infrastructure often depends on work that happens out of sight.
Perry said the local artwork adds vibrancy to the whole area and said the team was proud to work with Alliance partners WSP to deliver the element for Main Roads WA. The underpass mural celebrates the area’s land, history and diverse communities, drawing on the precinct’s market garden heritage and the work of local artists David Ledger and Joanne Clark, who used a patchwork quilt theme to reflect growth, connection and continuity.
That mix of safety, movement and design is what gives the project its reach. The path makes the route through Perth’s north feel more joined up, but it also fills a gap that had been there for years, and that is what makes this opening more than a ribbon-cutting. The unanswered question now is how quickly commuters will make it part of their everyday route.
