Addressing Community Priorities

Community Action Plan Development of Albany Highway strip

Challenges

• Restaurant strip is tired • Increasing commercial rents • Empty shops and growing vacancies • Disconnection between east and west • ‘Ugly’ car yards

Community Driven Actions

1. Create a long-term plan for the strip, addressing use of the car yard sites and how to connect the east and west precincts 2. Continue to support revitalisation strategies to put life back into the area and become know as the preferred entertainment hub 3. Attract, support and retain local businesses, including start-ups 4. Increase the diversity of the retail mix

Community Voices

“Not letting the Albany Highway strip wither as has occurred in Subiaco, Mt Lawley and Leederville.”

“Ensuring we don't have issues like Subiaco and Mount Lawley where businesses that are responsible for improving the vibrancy of the area aren't priced out of the area once a location becomes vibrant due to increased rent, etc.”

“If the town increased the amount of retail, cafes and pubs/clubs along the strip it would be "the place" in Perth. Many migrants who come to Perth always ask what is the best place and Victoria Park strip has a chance to become the hub.”

“Focus on any measures to ensure the growth of the hospitality and nightlife along Albany Highway so Victoria Park becomes the go-to area (like Mount Lawley once was).”

“I'd love to diversify the mix of offerings on the cafe strip (Albany Highway) - there are so many restaurants and cafes, particularly for anyone who loves Asian food, but small bars would be welcome as would more clothing boutiques.”

“The entertainment precinct. Trying to join the eastern end to the west. There is a large void in between with closed down car yards and empty offices. Closing off the busiest parts to cars on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.”

“There are several large vacant blocks and ugly "car yards" along Albany Highway which hopefully will be replaced by nice developments in the near future.”

“Try to re-capture Albany Highway as a vibrant retail shopping, hospitality strip. Use Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane as examples for inner strip shopping areas. They don’t have car yards located along their major tourist, hospitality and retail shopping strips.”

“Encourage start ups or have a space for emerging/new business to keep the area new and exciting.”

Community Action Plan Management of parking

Challenges

• Increasing development • Parking congestion around commercial strips, schools, near public transport, higher density areas, etc • Overflow parking on local streets • Parking on both sides of the street • Increase in paid parking

Community Driven Actions

1. Review Town’s approach to parking 2. Free parking for local residents (i.e. car sticker or pass) 3. Free parking for all in the evening and on weekends to attract visitors and shoppers

Community Voices

“Supporting your local businesses by removing the parking restrictions, or reducing the restrictions. For example, paid parking Monday to Friday between 9am-5pm; and then free and free on the weekends.”

“Free parking for locals, perhaps a sticker for the vehicles owned by rate payers. More parking everywhere. Better management of parking around schools.”

“Reverting back to free parking on the Albany Highway cappuccino strip.”

“We have a big problem with over zealous parking inspectors....This problem is partly what killed Subiaco and Freo.”

“The City of Perth…have less and less shoppers around and I heard they are removing paid parking at certain times because the shoppers prefer to go somewhere where they can spend their money on things to buy or eat in restaurants, and not have additional cost for parking.”

“Parking is clearly becoming an issue as the population of the area increases. Car parks such as the one behind IGA between Hubert St and Albany Hwy are now routinely over flowing for most of the day. Street parking has reduced many streets to single lanes only. With the approval of new developments…the area's infrastructure is under stress. Solutions to the parking issue need to be found. Ideally solutions that allow people to choose not to own a car are best. Better cycle lanes, free busses perhaps? Ultimately, if the council continues to allow higher and higher density without sorting the parking issue, the place will become very ugly.”

“In many cases houses have insufficient garages/carports/parking spaces for the number of vehicles the occupants own (e.g. group houses with several single people). Excess vehicles are left parked at the kerb, often on both sides of the road, which makes driving down the street difficult. Some of the vehicles may belong to commuters trying to avoid paying for parking at the Carlisle railway station….Where streets are clogged with cars would it be possible to make one side of the street a no-parking zone?”

“Vehicles regularly park on or across footpaths blocking foot traffic.”

Community Action Plan Streetscapes

Challenges

• Overall appearance and upkeep of streetscapes • Verge and footpath maintenance • Leaves, weeds, overhanging vegetation, etc • Litter

Community Driven Actions

1. More attractive streetscapes 2. Improved care and maintenance of verges 3. Better tree canopy 4. More native trees

Community Voices

“Ambiance and greening. Footpaths need inspecting for repairs. Street sweeper needed for leaves. Proper sculptured pruning of trees. Every house should have one tree - no exceptions.”

“Encouraging walkable neighbourhoods - safe walking surfaces for footpaths, places to rest, places to cross busy streets and interesting streetscapes.”

“Improving the streetscapes and within ALL of the suburbs within the town to improve liveability, safety and value. For example, I feel Lathlain and main streets are highly focussed on while Carlisle is treated as the poor cousin. This could include an improved adopt-a-verge program whereby council can clear verge and provide mulch like other councils do (as opposed to rebate currently on offer) which I think would encourage people to take the first step.”

“…sweeping all the leaf and branch debris, drain cleaning more regularly and repairs to the really old local roads and footpaths that are cracking and crumbling (Westmorland St, Etwell, Playfield and all around).”

“Develop the street-scapes throughout the remaining suburbs (eg Carlisle) not just along Albany Hwy, but along all streets including the small cul-de-sac's. It would be nice to go for a walk in summer along paths which are shaded by trees, for example. Beautifying the suburbs with nature, not filling it and the parks with concrete.”

“I would like to see more attention given to verges. South Perth generally feels cleaner because of their verge maintenance. I also hate the rubbish dumps that seem to occur all year round and make the town feel dirty. Perhaps skip bins should be provided instead of roadside collections. Also, I hate power lines - they ruin trees and streetscapes.”

“More native trees with canopies in public spaces. Verge trees should be mandatory. No opt-in or opt-out. If you can't remove a verge tree, and you can't even prune a verge tree, why does an adjacent home owner get to decide if a tree gets planted where none exists. The verges are public land and used by all member of the public. Trees cool the environment, encourage better communities and provide a habitat for native animals.

There should be a large canopy verge tree every 15m on both sides of every street. ”

Community Action Plan Lighting of streets and public places

Challenges

• Safety and security concerns at night • Insufficient lighting

Community Driven Actions

1. Improve lighting across the area – train stations, lanes, carparks, and various local streets. 2. Brighter, more cost effective LED lighting.

Community Voices

“Increasing safety for residents - appropriate lighting and security measures, security patrols etc.”

“Improving security overall - better street lighting, more CCTV in and around the main strip, possibly even overnight patrols in known hotspots.”

“Street lighting... overall safety for people commuting on public transport and then walking home.”

“Brighten the street lights, bigger wattage or brighter globes or extra poles. Some streets way too dark.”

“Security and street lights to be changed to LED to provide better lighting.”

“I think the lighting in some streets is very poor even though I have been told it "meets standards". For this reason I, as a woman, do not feel safe in the evening walking in the streets. ”

“The street lights could be much improved on Geddes St and surrounding streets as it is very dark there at night time and not safe for walking.”

“Security - improve street lighting especially around Carlisle and Oats St train station.”

“The Carlisle train station and the roads on either side. It looks terrible and is very dirty, rubbish scattered, unsafe, not great lighting, etc.”

“We also need better lighting in many streets (e.g. Dane/Hubert and others in the area) to improve safety.”

“Add lighting into those laneways which have none, eg Butler Lane, etc.”

“Street lighting side streets and parking in main strip.”

Community Action Plan Value for money from Council rates

Challenges

• Continual rate increases • Tough economic market

Community Driven Actions

1. Adopt a strategy to reduce rates 2. Focus on core services 3. Justify costs

Community Voices

“Reducing rates and being very cost effective with funds.”

“Council efficiencies - rates are constantly increasing by 3 or 4% per year in a 1% CPI environment and there appears to be no greater value for money. Rents are plummeting so based on GRV rates should be falling. Council refuses to explain the rationale for consisting increasing costs.”

“To adjust the current rates to be more in line with what is happening economically. When speaking with friends, who reside in all different areas in Perth, the cost of my rates is so far above what they are paying. This is putting an enormous pressure on our already very tight family budget.”

Minimising rate costs to residents, If you want to be an activist council, ask residents to opt in and pay; not your right to spend my money on virtue signalling. I have to work too hard to get it.

“Reduce rates and focus on the core functions of local Councils no ideological crusades.”

“It is a very expensive place to live rates wise. My rates are way higher than South Perth rates. Possibly because the council is too small but also because it tries to get involved in too many social programs rather than looking after what should be the council's main focus.”

“The council rates are far too high. To charge 8% of rental value each year is ridiculous. Learn to be as frugal as your residents need to be. Public servant salary increases have been less than 1% each year for years, but rates just keep soaring. Stop wasting money degrading our roads with obstacles, new kerbs they don't need, and changes to remove parking.”

“Probably control of the cost of rates. I sometimes wonder if council is getting involved in areas that other organisations and individual residents should be dealing with themselves. As an example I can not see the necessity of Council to employ a "Healthy Community Dietician". This is not your area of expertise or requirement to provide such a service.”

Overall Performance

How to read the following charts

Performance Ratings

The chart shows community perceptions of performance on a five point scale from excellent to terrible.

The Performance Index Score is a score out of 100 using the following formula:

(average score – 1)

4 x 100

In effect, the Performance Index Score converts the average rating into a zero-based score out of 100.

Score Average Rating

100 Excellent

Good

Okay Poor

Terrible Trend analysis shows how performance varies over time.

Variance across the community shows how results vary across the community based on the Performance Index Score MARKYT® Industry Standards show how Council is performing compared to other councils.

Council Score is the Council’s performance index score.

Industry High is the highest score achieved by councils in WA that have completed a comparable study with CATALYSE® over the past two years.

Industry Average is the average score among WA councils that have completed a comparable study with CATALYSE® over the past two years.