Community driven change in action, with Erwin and the people of Mullalyup
Community driven change in action, with Erwin and the people of Mullalyup
Mullalyup is a little town in the South West of Western Australia, with its main town centre on the arterial roadway between Donnybrook and Balingup.
Vehicles and logging trucks speed through at 70km/h or even more, making the community feel unsafe when walking, shopping or hanging out in their town.
Local doer, business owner Erwin Gerritsen-Kieft, brought the town together to workshop ideas to discourage people speeding to keep the community feeling safer and more settled in their town.
These community-led ideas are currently in the process of being implemented with the support of the Road Safety Commission, RAC and the Shire of Donnybrook.
We will follow this journey of Erwin as he mobilises his community to take real action to reduce vehicle speed through their town while making it a better place to live, work, play and visit!
Other ideas for influencing driver behaviour and reducing vehicle speeds
Here are some new ways of influencing driver behaviour and reducing vehicle speeds in town centres and residential areas.
Asphalt Murals

A recent study showed that asphalt art can reduce speeding by up to 50% in some cases.
People

Other studies demonstrate that simply having people visibly on the streets make them more vigilant, aware and conscious of their speeding.
Beautification of the Area

Beautifying the area with trees, parklets, playgrounds, art, gardens, lights and other placemaking concepts can achieve a better place and slower speeds, saving lives.
This story to be continued …
We can’t wait to see these ideas unfold. Part two of this story to come as the town of Mullyayup implements these ideas!
If you would like to reduce road trauma and save lives by working to make your town or suburb better then go to townteammovement.com/townteams to find out more and reach out!
This project is supported by the Government of Western Australia’s Road Safety Community Grants Program. A big thanks to the Road Safety Commission, RAC, Erwin Geritsen-Kief and the people of Mullalyup.
Further information
https://www.bloomberg.org/blog/new-study-shows-streets-are-safer-with-asphalt-art/
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/20splentyforus/legacy_url/287/FS_Credible_limits.pdf?1431368019