The Council has proposed four options for the light rail route through the city that would avoid the need for it to access two busy pedestrian malls and detract from the traffic-free amenity of the city's retail heart.

Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the options centred on using St Georges Terrace or Wellington Street instead of the Hay and Murray Street Malls.

Ms Scaffidi said that during the State election campaign Transport Minister Troy Buswell had indicated that the final CBD route for the proposed light rail system was yet to be confirmed.

“With the return of the Government, the Council now looks forward to the light rail project proceeding,” Ms Scaffidi said. “It is a visionary project that will greatly improve passenger movements and help to reduce congestion.

“We now call on the Government to carefully consider the light rail route through the CBD and to work more closely with the Council of the City of Perth in doing so.”

The options developed by the Council are:

• The Terraces:  An east-west route directly through the city centre, resulting in reduced bus movements on St Georges Terrace.
• Wellington Street: Diverting from Hay on to Wellington between William and Barrack.
• Hybrid Loop:  A single-track loop running clockwise on Wellington, Barrack, St Georges Terrace and William.  There would be additional track in William Street to improve west and north-bound ‘through’ movements.
• Single Loop:  A single-track loop running anti-clockwise on William, via Elizabeth Quay, Barrack and Wellington.

“The Council is committed to achieving a route which does not jeopardise the effectiveness and appeal of the Hay and Murray Street pedestrian malls,” Ms Scaffidi said.

“Running two tracks of light rail along the Hay Street Mall would leave very little room for the thousands of pedestrians who walk along it each day and would be of no benefit to city traders (given no stops exist along this section of the route).

“As the local government authority responsible for the CBD, it is vital that the State Government takes into account the planning expertise and experience we have in regard to the area.”