Some of Perth’s quietest, most bike-friendly streets were made that way decades ago. In the 1970s, a group of streets in Rivervale became cul-de-sacs, and part of Copley Road is now Copley Park. In the 1980s, diagonal diverters went in on Keightley Road in Subiaco, and the City’s Safe Active Street later built on their success.

These are modal filters: small changes that let people walk and ride through but stop drivers using local streets as shortcuts. A modal filter might be a cul-de-sac with a path through it, a pocket park across a street, or a diagonal diverter at an intersection. They cut the speed and volume of traffic while keeping streets connected for people walking and riding, and Austroads’ Prioritising Active Transport report rates them as low cost and high impact.

Mapping WA’s modal filters

Our Active Transport Officer, Tim Burns, has mapped more than 40 modal filters across WA, from Joondalup to Albany. The oldest date back to 1973, and some of the newest were added or upgraded as part of Safe Active Streets in Stirling in 2019 and 2021.

Explore them on the map below (orange dots), along with eight good examples of street design (numbered pins). Click any pin or dot for details.

Seven streets worth a visit

1. Subiaco Safe Active Street, Subiaco: Two diagonal diverters on Keightley Road, in place since the 1980s, paved the way for this Safe Active Street.
2. Mount Lawley modal filters, Mount Lawley: Modal filters keep through-traffic out of the streets between Walcott, William, Vincent and Beaufort Streets.
3. Roe Street protected cycle lanes, Perth: Not perfect, but the best example of protected cycle lanes in metro Perth so far.
4. South Perth foreshore paths, South Perth: Separate paths for people riding and walking, which work better than a shared path.
5. Macrae Road modal filter, Applecross: A filter at Gairloch Street lets bikes through but stops drivers using Macrae Road as a shortcut.
6. Rivervale cul-de-sacs, Rivervale: A cluster of cul-de-sacs from the 1970s and early 1980s. One, on Copley Road, is now Copley Park.
7. Banksia Terrace separated path, Kensington: A separated path that gives people riding their own space.

Why it matters

Feeling unsafe riding with fast traffic is the main reason people don’t ride more. Modal filters, separated paths, protected cycle lanes and lower speeds tackle that problem head on, and the latest Austroads cycling guidance reflects a shift among engineers and planners towards treatments like these on local streets.

Want one near you?

If drivers use your street as a rat run, ask your council whether a modal filter could help. Our advocacy resources page has the design guidance councils use and tips for having your say.

To see how Rivervale and Subiaco changed their streets, watch Tim’s video on 1980s modal filters and street changes.



Know a modal filter in your town?

So far we’ve only mapped one regional example, in Albany. If your town has a street that’s closed to cars but open to people walking and riding, we’d love to add it to the map. Email info@westcycle.org.au with the location, plus a photo if you have one.