South Perth’s new cycle way has copped a bit of comment, but I must admit it gets plenty of use. The City has now committed to straightening some of the bends too, so transit riders will be safer.
However, when the path hits the Vic Park boundary there is an unlit pair of steel pipes right across the track, concreted in. This is right next to a very confused set of old footpaths. Vic Park seems to not be part of the commitment to encouraging cyclists. South Perth has even offered to contribute to the costs of getting this path to join up with an existing transit route but to no avail.
We really need to get some “joined- up” thinking here.
There seem to be a lot of situations like this around WA, where we have good ideas and great projects but where these don’t always connect well with other actions, ideas and values. Other popular ideas just don’t seem to address more than one set of values.
Some that I’ve seen recently go like this:
WA needs lots of skilled workers. Some on the national priority list get through quickly. Thirteen thousand others are stuck in queue because Federal Immigration will process only people with skills on WA’s “State Migration Plan.” The problem is that WA has not produced a ‘State Migration Plan”. What??
The State has heaps of water in the north and high demand in the south. Some suggest a pipeline is the answer, without thinking that the energy cost and associated emissions every year would be immense. Water moving in a pipeline has to be pushed, due to friction with the pipe and changes in topography. Meeting one requirement certainly doesn’t meet others. Could we join the thinking to include our own realistic expectations around water and lifestyle?
Perth’s favourite landmark is the Swan River. In recent years we have had massive fish deaths and six dead dolphins in the river. You’d expect that someone was paying attention to water quality, right? Enquiries lead to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Their web site has lots about the new, wonderful Australian Water Resources Information System being the place to find such data. However, there is no such public data and phone enquiries to BOM indicate no one there knows about it either. Calls to the WA Department of Water about public live access to current water quality information yield, quote “You can’t really.” The will however give out some very simplistic data if you specifically ask for a particular item. Surely someone is joining the dots between the health of our beloved river and the quality of water in the river? Surely too, each of us takes care to do our own bit to keep the river healthy.
On Sunday I went with a group of bushwalkers to enjoy the new season around Mundaring. Without exception everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the hills, the diversity of plants and animals, wildflowers and fresh air. Surely we can join up the thinking between valuing the Australian bush and managing the way our city spreads and covers what we value with bitumen and concrete.
We are facing rapid change, as WA did in the 1880’s, in the 1970’s and 1990’s. We can just let it roll over us, like we did before, with rubbish dumps on the river banks, a cement plant up- wind and an industrial area which leaked thousands of tons of pollutants into our drinking water aquifers. The alternative is to connect our thinking and do it right this time.
Can you help be part of this, please?
3 comments:
Hi Pete
I am surprised that as a Green your support higher migration to 'fill skills shortages'. Bob Brown your leader doesnt support the rapid population growth that is overwhelming our infrastructure.
We need all politicians to support MUCH MORE training for our youth, chronic unemployed and Indigenous people.
Our real unemployment figures are closer to 10% esepcially among our youth , low SES and Indigenous groups.
Good to read on your blog that South Perth is committed to straightening some of the bends in it's new bike path. I've ridden along the path a few times, and it is, in my view, too winding, especially when you also have a bit of sand on the path, making it positively dangerous. Can you imagine Main Roads creating a new freeway with lots of winding bends in it? How annoyed would drivers be who simply want to commute to work every day as efficiently as possible? Why then do those creating the bike path think cyclists, many of whom probably commute to work everyday, want to take a winding path?
Your idea of "joined-up thinking" is great. Instead of a patchwork of mediocre bike lanes or paths scattered throughout the metro area, imagine if every Council committed itself to building one or two super-quality, super-safe bike paths (or on-road bike lanes) across its patch, and that these "joined-up". Cyclists could then commute safely, and quickly almost anywhere throughout the metro area.
why are such important infrastructure projects like the bike path not longer put on the website for public comment in the first place?? It would have saved so much trouble and to the City a lot of money! It seems the City of South Perth has too much of it... to built an expensive path and a few months later rip it up again...
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