Perth Voice Interactive

Needs a punt
THE curse of Charles Street keeps coming back (“Charles an ‘urban design disaster,” Voice, March 19, 2016) and it seems there is a resurgence of ultimately futile road project proposals to accommodate population and traffic growth.
Punt Road in Melbourne is facing a similar issue, although I have to say the Punt Road architecture is superior. Punt has had what is called an acquisition overlay (essentially a widening reservation) for more than 60 years, but no plans to do anything.
Charles Street has had a planning control area over it for a long time and a widening reservation before that, but there has never really been any plans to do anything substantial with it.
As I recall from my time on council, widening on the eastern side would require very expensive relocation of the 25kVa power line and/or on the western side the demolition of substantial properties including the heritage Brownes Dairy development and some of the newer unit developments south of Vincent Street.
South of Carr Street, the extra width needed for the ramps for the bus bridge would severely impact the Greek and historic former methodist church buildings on the western side.
And it all comes to a shuddering halt at Angove Street/Scarborough Beach Road anyway. Shifting more buses and cars along the southern part of Charles Street would largely just shift the congestion a few hundred metres up the road — not to mention making the Charles/Vincent Streets intersection worse than it already is.
The Punt Road acquisition overlay is currently under review, with VicRoads arguing amongst other things for widening to include bus lanes — sounds rather like Nalder’s vision for Charles Street. A new video about Punt Road (https://vimeo.com/155735380) is well-worth viewing.
The saving grace is we know public transport “planning” for this government consists of a series of unfunded and disconnected thought bubbles and that Barnett and Nalder often aren’t on the same page, so Dean Nalder spruiking a “solution” doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Ian Ker
former Vincent councillor
Vincent St, Mt Lawley

Give us our village
IT is good news that the former IGA site in Inglewood appears to be under offer so a more appropriate use can be made for the site than the lacklustre five-storey block of flats which received planning approval by the DAP.
It was an uninspired development with limited parking and green space, and no sense of place.
Maylands MP Lisa Baker is spot on when she says the use of this site should be very carefully considered.
This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to give Inglewood a town centre to serve the people of the area.
The City of Stirling lacks the vision to make this happen but hopefully a developer can see the potential of the site and give Inglewood a civic heart with perhaps a non-duopoly supermarket, public spaces and amenities — the urban village which Inglewood residents are crying out for.
Graeme Cocks
Ninth Ave, Inglewood