PERFECT HOLIDAY STORM ON VICTORIA QUAY

It is kind of fun mayhem on Fremantle’s Victoria Quay. “A perfect storm”, Fremantle Ports spokesperson Sally Swingler said.

Thousands of people wanting to visit Rottnest Island, many hundreds visiting the Gage Roads tavern, and very many visitors in Freo for the festive holiday season, make for that perfect storm.

Long term parking all but gone from early morning, and even finding a space to drop off people is hard to find, even with traffic control present on VQ.

The lesson that needs to be learned from this is that future development of the historic quay needs to provide parking, so that the long term future of the Rottnest ferry terminal is guaranteed.

Have fun on Rotto!

Roel Loopers

COLOURFUL IMPROVEMENT TO FOMO COURTYARD

Good to see that Sirona Urban has put more umbrellas, seats and tables in the FOMO courtyard at Newman Court. The food halls get busy at lunch time, so more seats were needed. The umbrellas improve the ambience of the hub.

The Gage Road beer garden at FOMO will open early in the new year, as will the new Mexican restaurant.

Roel Loopers

WARDERS HOTEL EXTENSION PROGRESSING

Work is well under way at the historic former Warders cottages in Henderson Street, next to the Old Courthouse tavern.

The rooms will be transformed into hotel rooms and will be an extension to the Warders Hotel, that is on the other side of William Street.

It’s nice to see at least one hotel development in Fremantle going ahead.

Roel Loopers

IGNORANCE AN INSULT TO FREMANTLE

I just wished that those who don’t know what they are talking about stopped writing letters to editors, or call talk back radio.

The above letter is in this week’s Fremantle Herald and it is nonsense!

Fremantle Ports have provide shuttle buses to the train station for cruise ship passengers, and the City of Fremantle always provide shuttle buses between the Passenger Terminal and Walyalup Koort.

It is always better to have an informed opinion, than embarrassing oneself.

Roel Loopers

PRE-COVID RETAIL SALES IN FREMANTLE

I know one should not generalise, but the feedback I have been getting from many Fremantle retailers is that the sales this week have been booming at pre-Covid levels.

The cafes, restaurants and pubs are also doing very well, I observed when I walked past at lunchtime, and there are a lot of overseas and interstate visitors in the port city.

Fremantle Ports had an electronic sign yesterday stating that parking on Victoria Quay was full. I had not see that before.

Roel Loopers

THE YEAR AHEAD-OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Only three more sleeps until we arrive in a new year. What are the opportunities and challenges for Fremantle and WA, and where can we make improvements?

• Domestic violence is at an unacceptable high rate in WA and that needs to stop.
• To support Fremantle the community needs to talk up Freo, not whinge and talk it down.
• Fremantle Council should ban leaf blowers. They are useless and noisy.
• The steps to the historic Roundhouse are a disgrace. Repair should be a priority in early 2023.
• Parking is not an issue in Fremantle, but finding vacant bays is. There are over 5,000 parking bays in Freo, but the signs to find them are insufficient.
• The High Voltage AC/DC event in May will be one of Fremantle’s major attractions.
• Fremantle Council will need to be reduced from 13 to 9 members. Like good sauce it requires slow simmering to get the best outcome.
• I highly welcome development in the inner city, but the lack of architectural quality is very disappointing.
• WA Police should clamp down on the ridiculous noise of motorbikes.
• The Freo hospitality industry needs to become more consistent in food and service quality.
• Community participation at festivals and events has all but disappeared. Fremantle Council should have a look at that. We want to be more than just watchers.
• The Fremantle community want an excellent and amazing new traffic bridge.
• More and more GPs have stopped bulk billing. That is affecting public health, as many low income earners stop seeing their doctors. It is too expensive for them.
• The Aboriginal Voice to Parliament referendum will be held in 2023. I will vote for what our indigenous people want, but would prefer more real change to the awful conditions of many Aboriginal people, especially in the more remote areas of WA.
• Good opposition is essential for good democracy, or those in power will stop listening to the community. It is not helpful that Liberals Libby Mettam and David-I am not a robot-Honey only complain about the Labor government. We need a more constructive opposition.
• The acoustics in the the Fremantle Council Chamber are rubbish. That needs to be improved immediately! Councillors and officers can make a start by actually taking into their microphones, not away from them. The best solution is headsets, so that the microphones are always in front of their mouths.
• Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote? I have no issue with it at all, but do they want to participate in the democratic process at that age?

The above list is far from complete. I could go on and on, and might even do that, but this is it for now. I am running on low toward the end of this exhausting year, so will need to slow down a bit for a while.

I wish everyone an outstanding New Year! We live in an amazing city with a fantastic community, so let us build and improve on that!

Roel Loopers

VIN POPULI THE NEW ITALIAN AT THE FORMER ROMA

It will take about another month until the former famous Roma restaurant in Fremantle’s historic West End will have a rebirth as the Vin Populi, serving modern Italian cuisine, in the style of the former popular Funtastico eatery in Subiaco.

The heritage building was bought by the Adrian Fini group, that gutted the building and even removed large parts of the facade.

While I reserve judgment until the fit out is completed and the venue open, I wonder why the two large windows don’t appear to be able to be opened. It would have been nice to connect the interior of the restaurant with the street activity.

Vin Populi is a word play on Vox Populi-voice of the people. The mix of French and Latin now means popular wine.

Roel Loopers

BOXING DAY TAKE TWO

Fremantle is buzzing on Boxing Day-take two. The city is packed with visitorson the public holiday, even in the often quiet High Street.

It was standing traffic, two ways, in Cliff Street, as motorists were keen to find vacant parking spots. The Italian Club carpark was empty, so frustrating that it can’t be utilised when the club is closed. They could make money out of it!

Hard to find a seat at Cicereloo’s and Kailis in the Fishing Boat Harbour, and a big crows at the 1pm firing of the Roundhouse cannon.

Roel Loopers

RETAIL GLASS HALF FULL IN FREMANTLE

I am always delighted when Fremantle traders tell me they are doing well. This morning Mark from the Record Finder shop in High Street in the West End told me he had a bumper Boxing Day with sales to overseas and interstate visitors.

He lamented though that no one else was open in High Street. That is no doubt partly due to penalty rates and also due to staff shortage.

Staff from WEAR2 told me last week that the move from Paddy Troy Lane to the Walyalup Civic Centre at Newman Court has made a positive difference to their trade as well. That is great.

As someone born behind the corner shop of my parents, I understand the challenges of retail business well. It can be a real struggle, with good sales one day and nothing the next two days. It can be a frustrating profession, but also a rewarding one.

It involves hard work, as Mark of the Record Finder shows. He opens seven days a week from around 8am till 5.30pm. That’s dedication for you.

Any other good news, Freo traders? Let me know please. We need to put the positive messages out there!

Roel Loopers

BRING BACK FREMANTLE CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT!

Looking back at this year’s Fremantle Christmas activities, I believe it is time to bring back the good old Carols by Candlelight at Fremantle Oval, or alternatively hold it in Princess May Park.

The Christmas Carols at Walyalup Koort do not work. The space is too large and the stage is too far away from the sloping lawn of the Walyalup Civic Centre. The event had no atmosphere and ambience, and not enough community participation for carols singalongs. Hence a relatively small crowd turned up, compared to the previous mass events at Fremantle Oval and South Beach.

It is probably all about costs, with the City of Fremantle spending a lot of money on the projections on the Townhall and St John’s church, but how many people did the projections attract this year, compared to the many hundreds of people who attended the Carols by Candlelight in previous years?

Fremantle Prison does great projections, so why not combine that and encourage people to go view them after they have participated in the Carols at Fremantle Oval. It’s only a very short walk, and would share the costs of Christmas events in Fremantle between Fremantle Council and Fremantle Prison, with both getting more attention.

The money saved on not having projections on the Townhall could be redirected to include Market and High streets next year and extend the wonderful cloud of small lights that hang above the Cappuccino Strip.

Roel Loopers