The City of Perth will begin a trial of heat-reflective ‘cool roads’ in East Perth and Crawley next week, testing whether lighter-coloured road surfaces can help reduce the heat felt on city streets.

Sections of roads in these areas will be coated with a lighter asphalt treatment designed to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it like traditional dark tarmac. The trial is the first of its kind on WA roads.

The City of Perth said similar coatings used in other Australian trials have reduced road surface temperatures by several degrees during hot conditions.

People moving through the area are unsure whether the treatment will make a noticeable difference.

Some say shade from trees would have a greater impact on comfort during hot days, while others welcomed the trial as a positive step.

“I think it’ll be nice for the environment and lower the temperatures,” says Georgia, a local Crawley resident.

Land surveyor Peter, who primarily works outdoors, says the benefit may be limited in leafy suburbs near the water.

“I don’t think it makes much of a difference to me, especially here where other things are already being done to mitigate the heat,” he says.

Curtin University urban overheating researcher Associate Professor Nasrin Aghamohammadi says cities experience rising temperatures in ways that directly affect people moving through them.

“Cities can develop a fever just like humans. Even a small rise in temperature signals something is wrong, which is why we need mitigation strategies and technologies to bring urban temperatures down,” she says.

“Cities absorb the sunlight like a very big battery and then slowly release that heat.”

Dr Aghamohammadi says urban materials play a major role in how heat is absorbed and released.

UWA environmental geographer Associate Professor Bryan Boruff says urban design choices can influence how much heat builds up in cities.

“Thinking about the materials we use in city infrastructure, including roads and road surfaces, can help offset some of the heat gains we see in our cities,” he says.

Dr Boruff says reflective surfaces may help reduce some of that heat, but they are only one part of the solution.

“There’s not one silver bullet to addressing urban heat. We need a mix of approaches, from smarter materials to better tree canopy and urban planning.”

Works on the reflective road surface are scheduled to begin in East Perth on March 16, followed by Crawley on March 17.

The City of Perth says the trial will test whether the reflective surface can reduce road temperatures and improve comfort for people moving through the city during hot weather.