Unlock Grants for Safer Streets: Info Session

Community-Led Street Safety Push

Western Australia's Streets Alive program represents a deliberate shift toward empowering communities to redesign local streets for safety and vibrancy. Delivered by Town Team Movement in partnership with Main Roads WA and the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA), the initiative allocates $5 million across five years to support projects that calm traffic, boost walkability, and foster inclusive public spaces on local roads.

Stream 1, now open, provides grants of up to $10,000 for capacity building, research, design of low-cost interventions, installations, and education. This round opened on 16 February 2026 and closes on 16 April 2026, with successful applicants notified in late May or early June. Projects must occur on local government roads—not state highways—and require collaboration with councils, including approvals for any physical changes.

The timing matters because road safety remains a pressing issue in WA, where local streets see high rates of vulnerable user injuries despite overall state efforts. Community-led approaches offer a way to address hyper-local hazards that top-down planning often misses, such as speeding in residential areas or lack of safe crossing points near schools and parks. The program's emphasis on placemaking—creating lively, people-oriented streets—also responds to broader trends toward reducing car dominance and improving liveability in growing suburbs and regional towns.

Non-obvious challenges include the exclusion of schools and for-profit entities, which limits participation from parent groups at educational sites despite their frequent involvement in safety advocacy. Additionally, the requirement for local government buy-in and support letters for installations can create bottlenecks or dilute community control. Yet the program's structure rewards collaborative, evidence-based proposals, potentially yielding higher success rates for well-prepared applicants amid competing demands on limited funds.