Transwa eyes new location for stop

Public Transport Authority of WA has confirmed it is considering relocating the Transwa road-coach stop to the new visitor centre on York Street.

Albany Visitor Centre on Proudlove Parade is set to be co-located in an information hub with Albany Public Library on York Street.

Construction is flagged to begin in the first half of this year.

Plans for the new Albany Tourism and Information Hub include a two-storey building extension to the York Street frontage of the library to accommodate visitor centre and library services.

Public Transport Authority of WA corporate communications manager David Hynes said the City of Albany approached Transwa about the possible relocation last year, with hopes to include the Transwa booking office.

“In the interest of making access to tourism amenities easier for our road coach passengers, we are considering the council’s proposal,” he said.

“No decision to move either has been made yet, and will not be considered until a suitable alternative location, including an appropriate site for a road-coach stop, can be found.”

However, City of Albany executive director commercial services Cameron Woods said there were no current plans to include the Transwa station in the relocation and said discussions with the transport group were ongoing.

“Transwa may continue to operate in the current location even after the relocation of visitor servicing,” he said.

“The City will continue to discuss location options with Transwa.”

While the Bibblumun Track Southern Terminus and Munda Biddi Southern Terminus were both confirmed to be relocated to the new visitor centre.

A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said it was hoped the move would increase exposure of the Bibbulmun and Munda Biddi trails.

“The trailheads are promotional tools which attract visitors to the trails and are co-located with visitor centres wherever possible,” she said.

“Moving the Albany Visitor Centre and trailheads to a more central location is expected to increase visibility and attract more visitors to the Bibbulmun Track and Munda Biddi Trail.

“This move has been planned for several years and is supported by the Bibbulmun Track and Munda Biddi Trail foundations.”