HIGHWAY TO CAR FREE HEAVEN

 

 

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt writes on his blog that the Highway to Hell event, where the entire Canning Highway was closed off to traffic from 4pm to late at night on Sunday, shows what potential there would be for place making if Perth was not such a car dependent city.

It was indeed fantastic to see thousands of people walking and cycling along Canning Highway, and I fondly remember the car free Sundays we had in Germany during the global oil crisis, where Autobahns became cycle ways and events were organised. Yes, those good old days, hey!

Closing parts of the city is always going to be a challenge and will receive criticism and praise, as it will inconvenience those who live and work there, and it requires a lot of, not very forthcoming, flexibility from the Public Transport Authority.

There are still Fremantle people who would like to see the High Street mall reopened to  traffic, and presumably also let cars run through the centre of Kings Square at the High Street reserve.

We had car free trials on the Cappuccino Strip on Sundays, but according to the City of Fremantle traders in the CBD did not support that. The trials were in my opinion not that good though, as they did not engage in real place making, and instead created a huge alfresco area for the traders on the strip, and the ugliness of far too much pine used, to make those alfresco spaces.

The Highway to Hell was a great creative, big thinking, idea that worked really well, but there are plenty of people who complain about it. A world where we all agree is as utopian as a car free world.

Roel Loopers

SOUTH TERRACE PAVEMENT PARTY

 

 

The South Fremantle precinct group is hoping to create a bit of David Engwicht style placemaking this Thursday, to celebrate the traffic calming and new streetscaping between Little Lefroy Road and Sydney Street along South Terrace.

The South Terrace Pavement Party is from 5.30-7.30 on December 6 and the organisors hope that local residents will bring chairs, couches, board games, musical instruments, etc. to connect with the local community.

The street facelift of new furniture, trees, bike racks and painted road service is only stage one of the City of Fremantle’s project, that will go all the way to Douro Road to emphasise it is a residential area and encourage motorists to slow down along South Terrace.

Roel Loopers

KNUTSFORD URBAN DESIGN STRATEGY ON AGENDA

 

The Knutsford Urban Design Strategy, which is on the agenda of the  Strategic Planning and Transport Committee of Fremantle Council on Wednesday, will no doubt attract a lot of input from the arts community in the semi industrial area that is earmarked for development.

The officers mention that walkability is an essential element of the plans, as well as respecting the original landscape, planting many more trees, flexibility when designing open spaces, disorganised parking on verges which affects cyclists and pedestrians, and connecting a path network in the precinct.

Community centres in the area, such as the Fibonacci Centre, are unique and need to have breathing space around them to be able to continue and that will be one of the many challenges for the development plans of the precinct.

Roel Loopers

THE FUTURE IS OURS, FREO!

 

 

I just saw this poster or billboard of PLACE PARTNERS  on Twitter and thought that it is very relevant to Fremantle.

PLACE PARTNERS-Placemaking Consultancy Australia are in beautiful Paddington in Sydney, NSW, but no doubt they will be happy to advise WA local councils about placemaking as well. Phone 02-8065 7401.

The future is ours if we are daring enough to reach for it and embrace it, Freo!

By the way, retail will thrive in WA over the next five years according to Deloitte, so the draught might soon be over for our struggling traders.

Roel Loopers

SOUTH FREO SOUTH TERRACE UPGRADE STARTED

 

 

 

Works to improve the streetscape along a section of South Terrace in South Fremantle have started

The upgrade, at the intersections of South Terrace, Sydney Street and Little Lefroy Lane, will create new road surfaces and footpaths painted in vibrant colours inspired by Fremantle’s street art. It will also include new bike racks and seating, street trees, rubbish bins and drainage improvements.

The placemaking includes the widening of the footpath which will create a bigger, pedestrian-friendly area and increase the amount of alfresco space, while the new paving, street furniture and trees will make it a better lingering node space for people to enjoy,

It is anticipated that reducing the width of the road will make it safer for people to cross the street and encourage drivers to slow down, which will also allow the removal of the very unpopular temporary speed humps in that section of South Terrace.

The project is being funded with the assistance of a $200,000 grant from the state government’s Local Projects, Local Jobs program.

The design was the subject of community consultation in November last year, with 73 per cent of respondents supporting the changes. Several other public meetings organised by the South Fremantle precinct, and attended by South Fremantle Councillors and City of Fremantle staff, were held at The Local last year to hear community concerns and ideas.

This is only stage one of the improvements to South Terrace in South Fremantle, so let’s hope that they work for traffic calming and making the area more pleasant and safe for all. The entire stretch from South Street to Douro Road is due for a traffic calming and an upgrade that will hopefully result in Mainroads allowing the City to lower the speed limit to 40kph.

Roel Loopers

 

FREO SHOULD DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

 

 

An arty city like Fremantle should be far more creative when it comes to public seating, bollards, etc.

Look at these great bollards in Gothenburg!

Roel Loopers

CREATIVE PUBLIC FURNITURE IDEA FOR FREO

 

 

How cool would this kind of street furniture be for Fremantle’s beaches or for Notre Dame University. Seating and shade all in one unit.

I’d love to see something like this on the grass in Phillimore Street where many students gather in front of the NDA buildings there, and Bathers Beach and South Beach could do with something creative as well.

Roel Loopers

WHAT FREMANTLE CAN LEARN FROM YAGAN SQUARE

 

 

 

I am always committed to making Freo a better place to live, visit and work, so I hopped on the train to Perth this morning to have a look at the new Yagan Square and to see if Fremantle can learn anything from it for the Kings Square development. The answer is yes.

While Yagan Square has some really nice features the overall impression for me was disappointing. There is quite a bit of pretentious look-at-me design and the large space is ostentatious instead of good placemaking.

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority-MRA clearly did not learn from the Elizabeth Quay mistakes because there is far too much heat-reflecting hard surface of concrete and pavement and not enough shade. There are also the now typical BYB seats-Burn Your Bum, which will heat up from the sun.

The Market Hall inside is just another food hall but this one is dark and claustrophobic, so nothing to write home about either.

While the Yagan statue artwork is stunning I was surprised to see no story telling about the great warrior and Whadjuk Noongar history. It might be somewhere, but I failed to notice it, which means it is not significant enough.

There are a lot of struggling Balga grass trees, but I did not get a cultural experience about our indigenous history. That saddens me as it is an opportunity lost.

My overall feelings were that the square looks as if it was only partly designed and the rest just filled with concrete and seats, so please City of Fremantle learn from that and make Kings Square a much more special and enjoyable experience!

Roel Loopers

PUBLIC REALM AT FREO’S NEW KINGS SQUARE

 

 

As I reported earlier this week Fremantle Council  on Wednesday approved concept plans to upgrade public spaces in Freo’s historic Kings Square. Here some more details.

The key components of the $8 million upgrades which form part of the broader renewal of the Kings Square precinct include:

• more shaded areas, with a 5% increase in tree canopy
• over 2,300sqm of public gardens and grassed areas
• a new outdoor interactive children’s play space with artistic light and sound elements
• a designated church yard and urban garden area
• new paving and street furniture extending further out to the edges of the square
• a greater priority on pedestrians but with the retention of service vehicle access, universally accessible parking and vehicle drop-off zones
• flexible outdoor spaces for events
• wider footpaths to encourage alfresco dining
• historical interpretation including glass floor viewing windows to interpret the former church and other material found in recent archaeological excavations
• enhanced lighting and CCTV coverage.

Roel Loopers

CANTONMENT HILL PROGRESS

 

 

Stage 1 of the Fremantle Cantonment Hill project is now underway and a start has been made on the new children’s playground, retaining walls, earth stabilisation and steps from Canning Highway to the top of the hill.

The steps are just to the east of the former Naval Stores where ENKEL will move into in a few months and disabled access will be built to the left of the steps.

One has stunning views over the port, river and Fremantle from the top of the hill and Fremantle Sea rescue has taken over the former Signal Station.

There is access from Burt Street (opposite Officeworks) to walk or drive up Cantonment Hill during the day, or walk up and do a bit of exercise.

Roel Loopers