Marina traffic forecast

The State Government has estimated a maximum of 11,000 vehicles would travel along Memorial Drive in Rockingham per day should the Mangles Bay marina proposal be completed.

Opponents of the project, which is being driven by Landcorp and Cedar Woods, have raised concerns over the amount of traffic on Rockingham roads as a result of the potential marina both during construction and after it has been completed.

When questioned in Parliament last week, Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said a traffic impact assessment report indicated that a maximum of 11,000 vehicles would use Memorial Drive daily, not the 15,000 estimated previously.

The report also explores several traffic-related scenarios including expanding Memorial Drive to four lanes, but Mr Dawson said this was only one of several options on the table.

He said during afternoon peak times, traffic queues of 105m could form from the intersection of Safety Bay Road and Memorial Drive.

The WA Planning Commission is considering a potential amendment to the Metropolitan Region Scheme that would rezone the land required for the marina to urban. Once a WAPC recommendation is reached, it will be relayed to Planning Minister Rita Saffioti for consideration.

Mr Dawson said the traffic impact assessment report was one of several technical documents being considered for the structure planning process.

He said the document would only be made available should the MRS amendment be approved, which would result in a public consultation process.

Mr Dawson said the number of dwellings involved in the proposal would be determined if the amendment was approved, with the number projected after a local structure plan preparation.