Traffic Management 

Required Information

For simple Traffic Management Plans, the following can be used as a guide;

• Times and dates the obstruction/s will occur*
• A site plan showing which area/s will be affected (crossover / verge / footpath / road) including indicative measurements, street tree locations or anything else that is in close vicinity and may be impacted by the works

The location and type of signage** to be installed, traffic cone and personnel placement

*Traffic management will not be approved, if the works are in streets surrounding school zones and will impact school pick-up and drop-off times. Road and path obstructions are best done in the middle of the day to minimise impact on the public.

** “Footpath Closed” or “Use Other Footpath” signage is preferable over generic “works ahead” signage for footpath closures / obstructions.

If your works are deemed complex, you may be required to obtain formal traffic management through a qualified traffic management company.  

To submit a traffic management plan, please email admin@eastfremantle.wa.gov.au

Fees and Charges

There are no fees applicable for assessment and approval of Traffic Management Plans. 

Assessment Process

Timeframe

• 7 working days are required to assess simple plans and provide approval, providing all information is supplied. 

Please note, a complex plan including road closures may take up to 14 working days to assess, providing all information is supplied..

If you are conducting an event you should submit the Traffic Management Plan with the event application.

Review process

The Town reviews the Plans for the purpose of general oversight.

The following is taken into consideration:

• The local road environment
• Pedestrians and cyclists
• Speed zones and known traffic behaviours
• Heavy vehicles, traffic efficiency
• The timing and duration of the project

For formal traffic management, is the responsibility of the RTM or AWTM to make sure that the plan complies to AS 1742.3 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 3 Works on Roads, and the Main Roads WA Code of Practice Traffic Management for Works on Roads. 

Approvals

The Town will confirm the approval in writing. Work (other than emergency work) or the event must not commence until this confirmation has been received by the workers on site.

What are traffic counters and what do they do?

Traffic counters are small boxes which are linked to thin black tubes that stretch across the roadway.

These black tubes are spaced a certain distance apart from one another and use air pressure to register when a tyre runs over them – counting as a ‘hit’. From these ‘hits’,
a special software program takes the information and interprets it a number of ways to develop special reports for use by the Town’s engineers.

What information does it register? 

Using the ‘hits’, the software times how long a wheel takes to hit the first tube, then the second tube and how many hits occur immediately after this. Motor vehicles are
separated by the number of axles, and the distance between these axles, into ‘classes’. This means the counters and software are able to tell if the vehicle is a motorcycle, bus, car or a car with a trailer. This same information is used to calculate the vehicle’s speed, and depending upon which tube the vehicle hits first, this will determine its direction of travel.

Why do traffic counts?

The Town attempts to undertake traffic counts on a scheduled basis, budget permitting.

This is to ensure the Town’s road network is being used efficiently and safely, allowing the Town to have valid information at any given time. This means that the Town can be proactive when dealing with issues such as speeding vehicles or the number of vehicles using a street, by producing evidence and allowing the Town to compare similar streets to one another, rather than relying solely on community feedback, which may or may not be passed on to the Town.

Traffic counts are also usually taken before or after changes are made to nearby land, such as large housing or shopping developments, or changes to the road itself, such as introducing speed humps, which may affect traffic speeds and volumes.

How long do traffic counters stay in place?

The counters will remain in place for a period of approximately two weeks, however should the counters be damaged during this time this will further delay the process, and they will need to be re-installed for additional time.

What if I see people speeding?

The Town takes road safety and speeding very seriously, and is why a pro-active approach is taken.

The traffic counts undertaken by the Town are done according to recognised industry standards and are always audited to ensure the information is valid. These counts are as good as a person being on the street
around the clock with a radar gun recording the type, speed and time of a passing vehicle. The readings recorded are then examined to see if speeds and volumes are within the recommended range for that
particular road and situation in the first instance.

If they are of a concern or are recorded as being outside the recommended range, the information is compared to similar roads nearby to determine where the areas where attention and funding should be focused. For
example, Street A may have speeds of 62km/hr in a 50 Zone, but Street B also has 62km/hr speeds and twice as many vehicles as Street A - and in this scenario, Street B would be a higher priority.

What are the ranges for roads?

Volume is determined by the ‘Main Roads WA.

Functional Road Hierarchy’ which has differing criteria for roads, from access roads catering for under 3000 Vehicles Per Day [VPD], up to primary distributor roads
with fewer than 15,000 VPD. Counts that are above or below the allowable limits for each type of road may require re-classification to fall in line with how they are
used, built and perceived by the public - or physical upgrades to cater for more or less traffic.

In terms of speed, the Town focuses on the ‘85th percentile’ speed of the vehicles using the road. This speed is at or below 85% of all the registered speeds that vehicles are recorded to be travelling at, under free flowing conditions. This is a nationally-recognised method of assessing traffic speeds. While this figure tends to be higher than the posted speed limit, it is often considered to be the speed at which a ‘reasonable person’ would be travelling on that road. There may be cause for concern when this figure is calculated to be approximately more than 10 km/hr over the speed limit.

While it is important to remember that no speed over the limit is acceptable, it is impossible to have every driver travel at the exact limit, and there will be degrees over and under the limit– and it is this degree of variation from the recommended speed that the Town seeks to pro-actively reduce.

Can the speed limit be changed?

In Western Australia, the speed limits for all public roads are controlled and maintained by Main Roads Western Australia [MRWA]. For the speed limit to change, up or down, an application needs to be
made to MRWA with supporting evidence, investigation, considered impacts, and justification.

Typically the speeds adhere to strict rules and changes outside these parameters are made only in exceptional circumstances. As you can appreciate,
such a process is lengthy, but with support and proper evidence, is a worthwhile undertaking to improve safety.

Can I have access to traffic count data collected?

Where available, the Town is able to release the following information on request:

• Volumes in average weekday traffic [or VPD]
• 85th percentile speeds
• Morning and afternoon peak periods, and volumes during those times. It should be noted, however, that this information is contextual and these figures are influenced by many other factors, such as weather
  [rainfall], special events [festivals nearby], building works and so forth.

The Town is committed to recording and monitoring this data, in the interests of optimising pedestrian and road-user safety