By Greg Thomson, Community Newspaper Group editor-in-chief
THE City of Perth has unveiled a grand vision for the revival of our CBD, with a light rail link, more open space and improved pedestrian and cycle linkages drawing wide praise.
When considered alongside the sinking of the railway at Northbridge, and the proposed Venice-style waterfront upgrade, the city’s latest strategic blueprint could go some way towards helping us bury “Dullsville”.
An Urban Design Framework: A Vision for Perth 2029 covers a raft of major development projects, and proposes transformation of the city’s streetscapes and a reclaiming of roadways for pedestrians, cyclists and scooters.
A highlight of the plan is a light-rail concept linking Subiaco, the city centre, Victoria Park, and Curtin University.
Such a network could be supplemented by an inner-city serviced only by CAT buses and a parking regime that seriously discourages daily motoring.
The promotion of a light-rail concept for Subiaco is not new; a similar project remains a City of Stirling hope, linking Glendalough station with a revitalised Scarborough Beach foreshore.
The next decade looms large for the shape of our city with leading architects being recruited to design conceptual solutions to help solve challenges, such as a freeway cover adjacent to Parliament, the sinking of the railway east of Barrack Street to the Swan River, and the rivers of green along our foreshore.
Such projects will need significant federal and state funding to get off the ground, but thinking big is the first step towards making it happen.
Another essential component needs to be intensive, private sector-led housing development across the inner-city.
With a CBD population estimated at fewer that 13,500 – and with most of this located on the fringes rather than at the city’s core – we need to build the critical mass needed to ensure that vibrancy flourishes, rather than it be contrived.