THE City of Stirling may implement a $50,000 40km speed zone trial on Main Street Osborne Park as early as February next year.

Council will foot the bill for the project, spending up to $40,000 on flashing speed signs and $10,000 on an independent review of the speed zone trial.

Because no funding was allocated for the trial in the current budget, the earliest timeframe would be the mid-year budget review in February if councillors pass the proposal next Tuesday .

The current speed limit for Main Street is 60km, but residents and local businesses told the Stirling Times there was a speeding issue.

Tania Peitracatella of Main Street Co-op, a group aiming to revitalise the strip, said reducing the speed limit was the first step to changing the dynamic of the street.

“My husband has had a business on Main Street for many years and we constantly hear screeching of brakes in the area, it is a real issue here on Main Street,” she said.

“It needs to be much more pedestrian friendly and the best way to do that is by lowering the speed limit.”

Ms Peitracatella said the traffic issue on Main Street was well overdue for review.

“Foot traffic in the area needs to be encouraged and that will flow on to local businesses too,” she said.

The City wrote to Main Roads WA on January 28 requesting consideration of a 40km per hour speed zone between Eldorado Street and Federal Street, which was later also extended to Cape Street.

“The City has held discussions with Main Roads WA officers on a number of occasions in the last few months,” a council report said.

Police, Department of Fire and Emergency Services and an ambulance attended a car versus car prang on the corner of Main and Federal Street last Tuesday, with at least one person taken for medical treatment.

According to Main Roads WA data, almost 70 crashes occurred in the area between Cape Street and Royal Street in 2014 and 2015, with 61 properties damaged as a result.

Eight people needed medical attention due to crashes.

July 29th, 2016, Written by Kate Leaver for the Stirling Times