Canning Bridge Action

Canning Bridge traffic is a mess, no doubt about that. Cars, buses, pedestrians, bicycles and trains find their way through as best they can. The bridge sees more use every day. Coordinated planning is sorely needed.

Following recent attention by Lynn MacLaren of the Greens, Friday saw a thorough walking inspection by a very high- level group. Simon O’Brien- Minister for Transport, John McGrath- State Member for South Perth, James Best- Mayor of South Perth, Cliff Frewing- CEO, City of South Perth, top executives and engineers from Public Transport Authority, Main Roads and Department of Transport plus senior staff from City of South Perth, a Disability Access specialist, and myself.

This is very probably the first time such a group had seen our local chaos together, for themselves. Having everyone on site together produced good, effective communication around the issues and what can be done. Minister Simon O’Brien promised “consolidated action, across departments.”

I had always thought that lack of pedestrian access was an oversight but the engineers said that the bridge was meant to be just a bus and train interchange. Now that we see thousands of people from South Perth and Melville walking to the station it is clear that some imaginative design work is needed. People jumping fences, dodging traffic and dropping friends and family in three un- official kiss- and- ride points have made it clear that more is required.

Ease of use and safety are vital. Every person using Public Transport is one less car on the freeway and one less car parking in the City.

Now, let’s see some action.

Have your say by clicking on “Comments” below.

South Perth: What a Place to Be

Wow, wasn’t Red Bull the place to be on the weekend. The crowd enjoyed a spectacular time, the pilots showed how good they are, pushing the limits of aerodynamics, the organisers made it look so easy and even the police didn’t raise a sweat.

You can click on the photos to enjoy them in full screen. For a YouTube video of Matt Hall, RAAF jet pilot, finishing in his best- ever, second place, position just click here (turn the sound up).

Click here for a longer video from Perth Red Bull 2008, with extra adrenaline.

The new beaches on the foreshore were really popular. With the addition of cabanas to lounge on they showed the way we might do things every day of the summer. Just imagine something like this, perhaps with a van selling ice creams, sun screen, coffee and postcards. Be there early to bag a spot.

Hospitality was really professional. Could we maybe do more of this around the Boatshed, so it becomes The Place to Be? Nothing grand, just some sheltering hedges, plenty of shade, views to snap and send home, a place to chill and enjoy being alive and in South Perth.

Night time views across the water aren’t too shabby either. Just imagine the new promenade running along the water’s edge from the Bellhouse cafe at Mends Street, after a restaurant dinner, walking arm- in- arm on a summer evening- idyllic. Could we even take a ride on the Ferris wheel and watch moonrise over the hills?

We are undergoing so much change and what amazes me is how well it is happening. People are using imagination, their experience from other lands and so many spirited conversations. With twenty one Councils along the river shores we seem to be managing pretty good co- ordination.

I really have lost count of how many public meetings, conversations and forums I’ve attended, around the topic of our way forward. People of South Perth are beginning to shape the future the way they see it, imagining possibilities, other realities and looking for opportunities.

For years we have been wary of change, sometimes doing nothing, at no cost, every day and never risking criticism. What a spirited experience this is, being part of making the future of our city.

Our community is thinking as a whole City, not just as local neighbourhoods. Exciting things are happening, from Mill Point to Manning, Canning Bridge to Kensington. Our city is developing for the benefit of all, including the million visitors every year. One more challenge is to find new ways to offer services to these visitors so the City benefits from the economic activity.

We have so many opportunities available. There is a general feeling that doing nothing has been comfortable for years but it means opportunities lost

By doing the things that continue to make South Perth a vibrant, exciting and safe place to be we are attracting more bright and alive minds who will go on to imagine and create new futures right here.

I love this place.

Canning Bridge Communication

Here is a cutting from today’s West. To open the article you can click on it twice to view in full size.

The West on-line is at http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest

The future of our community is very much in focus now. Over the past three years we have had many public meetings, workshops, forums, meetings, seminars and barbecues around this topic. The way that we communicate is what keeps us together and moves us on.

What is clear is that there are many different opinions around the way that Como develops. Some opinions are certainly very strong. What has been outstanding is the way that people speak of their case, with respect and clarity. Similarly, people listen and respond to arguments. There has been little or no demand that this or that point of view must be accepted by all. That is not to say that there haven’t been moments of high emotion :-)

My belief is that it is how effectively we communicate that will most influence our future.

Comment on Canning Bridge Submissions

This week the submissions on the Vision for Canning Bridge closed. Many in the community have made their feelings known. Some that I have heard or read involve objections to particular components, suggestions for alternatives, critiques of the philosophy of TODs, calls for more study, calls for a halt to development, calls for more rapid development, attention to sustainability and much other besides.

This week’s newspapers have been full of the latest growth analyses. Two meetings that I have details from involved:

• figures for new developments such as five new industrial areas and two more ports south from Perth
• a billion dollars of development expenditure along the south- west corridor, every year for twenty years
• expansion of Karratha to one hundred thousand people
• expansion to fifty thousand of many other towns, such as Newman

Many people are very concerned about how we maintain values related to environmental diversity, energy use, water and food supply, community connectedness and more.

In the midst of all this we see Dr Janet Woollard’s public submission. This could be summarised as follows:

• One should not have a Vision for the future until all past thinking, developed on the basis of past reality, has been fully implemented and is functioning as planned.

Unfortunately this misses the point that times have changed, that we have a new reality, new risks and new opportunities. It also misses the bit about essential human values and caring for our country.

This does not mean that we have to be pro- development at all costs. It does mean that we should all be engaged in shaping the future while being conscious of our values.

The residents of Como, Applecross and the whole precinct of Canning Bridge are demonstrating that they are very prepared to get involved, to make certain that they contribute to the way that our neighbourhood moves to the future.

Curtin town planning lecturer and local resident, Julie Brunner, has made a very thoughtful and detailed submission which exemplifies this approach. Julie has pulled together the myriad threads that contribute to making a local community plan work for the benefit of people who live here.

Keep up the good work in Como. Have your say by clicking on ‘Comments’ below.