At Fremantle’s next full council meeting, the council will consider the new council parking policy for residents, link here to the meetings agenda.
Its an issue I have spoken about many times before, I have included links to the Heralds parking curbs article from October 2014. Also the interview I had back on WTV “Fremantle Parking Curbs” from last year when I raised attention to the anti-car tack taken by CoF. Strange a council that wants to reduce the parking its residents and rate payers can use, yet supplies some 200 car parking bays free to its staff, sends a bit of a mixed message doesn’t it? What happened to their drive for workers to use PT to commute to and from work. While the council encourages its own staff to use cars with free parking right in the heart of the CBD.
Its interesting when you watch Brad talk on the WTV interview, he seems to think that if you live in the CBD, “you don’t need a car” so I guess that means, if you live in CBD you don’t need to leave Fremantle or go down south, even in an electric car. Does that means people who own electric cars cant live in the CBD in Fremantle? Quite confusing really, Brad wants an electric car charging network, going down south but thinks we don’t need CBD parking spaces for residents, we need charging stations but not bays to park the cars in? This sort of ideology left common sense a long time ago.
The sad comparison of Fremantle with European cities or high density cities in the Americas is ridiculous. If they think bike riding will be as popular in fremantle as it is in places like Holland which is just dead flat. The biggest challenge to bike riding east to west or vise versa in freo is not the lack of a dedicated bike track, its the 2 big hills up south st. To think a parent with an infant will tackle that in + 30degrees C with shopping onboard riding a bike is ridiculous. That’s why as CoF continues to make car parking more challenging, shoppers make other shopping precincts their destinations. With out the mass of shoppers using freo as a destination, the businesses continue to leave, driving even the CBD residents to shop more and more at other centres.
The councils primary function is representing the rate payers and residents of Fremantle, judging from the agenda for the upcoming parking policy item the community submissions and surveys tell a difference story from the direction council is heading, nothing new there I suppose? Especially since the council has decided to treat the 200 public comments on the subject as a confidential attachment.
So now we can wait and see whether common sense and the rate payers wishes guides council or is it their anti-car agenda.
Thursday I had a meeting up at Parliament House so I thought I would take the opportunity to sit in on the MLC & MLA sessions.
My god what beautifully maintained building and grounds, I was really impressed with the professionalism of the staff at parliament house it is a really nicely run operation. Perhaps I have not been getting out enough but what fantastically maintained grounds, the lawns the trees and plants and the massive amount of bird life was fantastic. As I left the MLA chambers the southern grounds was a live with native birds.
Its been years since I sat back in a Park by myself and appreciated the grounds, lush grass, lovely tree canopy, birdlife, I can really say it was relaxing experience and so close to Perths CBD. No graffiti, no anti social behaviour, a pleasant place to be.
The only down side was going into parliament house and listening to those who are suppose to represent us, the level of civil discussion is just non existence, it really is just a groups yelling abuse at each other.
But inside and out parliament house is a beautifully maintained building its a credit to the staff both grounds and internal, I felt a real sense of pride (being Western Australian) on how our house of democracy is taken care of. Shame about the politicians behaviour inside. If you haven’t been, @1030 a tour starts its well worth it and I got to park for free.
When you compare it to the shabby state of our council chambers the lack of care or basic maintanance and cleaning, I had seen the same old water bottle(and it was plastic) under the back bench for a month. There’s spots where it looks bits of the ceiling will fall in?
Sadly maintenance and basically cleaning is not up to par showing a general lack of care for our beautiful old town, its buildings and its heritage, just look at the town hall. It must make investors think twice if this is the right place to invest when the city invests so little in its own maintenance?
The other day just 100m from the council office is a huge chuck of concrete curb I rolled back, laying in the bike lane and this is something they supposedly care about, its a hazard for bikes, pedestrians, cars, and even worse some dickhead will probably throw it at someone or their shop window or car, so tomorrow, another call to the office, basic stuff just maintenance.
Yesterday the Premier announced that he agreed the amalgamation have failed and would not seek to force council together unless they both agreed to them. Which in some ways is great as it shows the Premier is finally listening to what the community wants and needs. I wonder how long it will take for that sort of epiphany, to reach elected members in local government?
Then at the bottom of that article we see our Mayor Brad, reported as saying “Mr Pettitt said Fremantle would still want to take Hamilton Hill and North Coogee from Cockburn, plus Palmyra and Bicton from Melville.” Note that’s take not agree!
Sadly it makes no mention of our suburbs that where going to Melville, so it looks like our Mayor is happy to cut lose Samson and parts of O’Conner, suburbs that have been part of the Freo community for decades.
The battle will come for all the merger planned areas to and from Fremantle’s borders, will Melville give up Pt Walter, I can’t see that happening, a very unpopular move in the mind of Melville residents, will the Cockburn Council allow Freo to take all of Hammie Hill, why cut a community in 1/2 in an area that has been a community for decades?
Then there is the North Coogee bit and the North Freo re-aliment, also in the air. I can’t see Cockburn wanting to let Hammie go, especially after the back room deals between some councils that left Cockburn on the chopping block while Melville and Freo carved off chunks to suit themselves, I bet that has left a sour tastes in many mouths?
Listening to the ABC this morning the minister is reported to be saying it’s still to be decided, if Governors orders are to be revoked, if not the whole process would leave a suburb like Cockburn considerably smaller than they started the process at, does that make sense, does it?
Leaving us the community wondering what’s next, on one hand we read the Premier says he will not force the councils to give communities up, unless they agree, yet on the other hand we read that Freo’s Mayor Brad still wants, Hammie Hill, Palmyra, Bicton, Point Walter and North Coogee, I can’t see any of those residents wanting to come to Freo, especially with the clear message that East Freo sent on Saturdays Polls. H sayse doesn’t want to force the East Freo issue possibly as he got well and truly canned there. But he seems to be happy to force suburbs from Cockburn and Melville to come to Freo while kicking some existing areas of Freo to the gutter, seem contradictory to anyone?
On 6pr we hear this morning, WALGA president Troy Pickard told 6PR the sector had moved too far from the original objectives and had become “flawed beyond repair”.
Tonight our Freo council is looking to drive along policies for suburbs that may or may not be part of Future Freo, and have had no input to such policies, is this good governance? Yet another council saga continues, funnily I saw Roels Blog this morning about rubbish left for weeks at the Round House yet again. So we have a council struggling to supply basic amenity to our city and a mayor who wants to add to their woes by making it bigger.
Over the weekend we saw a heavy community backlash against the process of amalgamation, so what will this mean for Freo?
As the once to be greater City of Fremantle, we have lost East Freo which I think would have added a new depth to our city.
What happens to areas of Fremantle that where going to Melville?
What happened to the areas of Melville that are suppose to come to Fremantle?
What happens to areas of Cockburn coming to Fremantle?
Then later I hear reported that all focus would be quote”He said the proposed City of Perth Act, to enable the capital to acquire Vincent and parts of the western suburbs, was the “immediate focus now”.
How does council tomorrow night have a Special Committee meeting and vote on Policy when they don’t even know what suburbs will be effected by the policies, surely making a policy for 26000+ residents or just under 60,000 is a little bit different god know it must effect the cost??
So in the process of good governance how can a council bring policies into place without knowing what suburbs it will even effect. I suppose that makes it clearer for the broader community, to see if the policy they make are based on their own ideology or whats the need and representation of their residents? Considering they don’t even know what residents and suburbs they will have? Must make it harder speaking for the silent majority when u don’t know who they even are?
So only a day and bit to go till the votes are counted,,,, well maybe?
Cockburn I think will not gain enough votes to make their ballot count, same for Vic Park.
South Perth will take it to the wire needing another 147 ballots to hit 50% will it be enough though allowing for non compliment ballots. Still a massive showing from South Perth with almost 13500 votes return so far.
Perhaps this amalgamation shambles may have a silver lining with the state government stimulating interest in local government, I’m sure that will make a few nervous knowing that its resident and voters may be taking more of an interest in what goes on, as before they could happily trundle along with their own personal agendas and ideology.
What I find amazing is the comments over the last few months how great it was Freo was not taken over by Melville or what ever but when East Freo stands up and asks for the their independence, their arguments are all lies and conspiracies, hypocrisy is alive and well in Fremantle.
At some point I’m sure the cities will merge in one fashion or another, we just need leadership capable of bring the people together not dividing them. As if this amalgamation fails it will be a judgement of the ones who proposed its borders and how many $10,000 wasted on that?