Vincent mayor Emma Cole has admitted she’s not convinced about the merits of self-cleaning toilets. After waiting 10 minutes for the toilet outside Leedy HQ to finish it’s cleaning cycle recently, Voice photographer Steve Grant was taken aback to find the finished product looked like it had hosted an out of control gathering, with cigarette…

VINCENT council has joined the City of Perth in calling for the state government not to hit ratepayers’ wallets by jacking up the Perth parking levy. Every year the councils have to give the state government around $1150 for every car bay close to the CBD, amounting to $58 million last year. The cash is…

MOTORCYCLISTS and scooter riders could be allowed to park on city footpaths if Perth councillor Jemma Green gets her way. Melbourne council lets motorcyclists park on the footpath as long as they don’t obstruct pedestrians, and the Voice occasionally gets calls and emails from Perth riders who want the same rule here. The Motorcycle Riders…

PERTH council’s “joke” of a media policy that prevents councillors speaking to the press has been granted a stay of execution. City staff, including new CEO Martin Mileham, recommended that councillors adopt a new policy letting them give their personal opinions to the press (provided they didn’t purport to be representing the city’s view). The…

LABOR has fulfilled its pre-election promise to scrap unpopular plans to widen segments of Guildford Road. Late last year the WA Planning Commission tentatively floated long-term plans to widen a six kilometre stretch of Guildford Road between Tonkin Highway and East Parade. The upgrade wouldn’t have added lanes, but instead create wider footpaths, bike paths…

WEAK corporate business controls, inconsistent management reporting, and surging spending that’s projected to outstrip revenue has been uncovered by an independent report into the City of Perth. Councillors spent $500,000 on the independent Deloitte, “organisational capability and compliance assessment”. At the time of the vote in March, lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the audit would…

THE bike boulevard at Mount Hawthorn will be extended following a mildly successful five month trial. Turning a chunk of Shakespeare Street into a bike priority zone had initially split the neighbourhood, but with 60 per cent of submissions supporting the trial it went ahead in December last year, with the Department of Transport footing…

SINGLE-use plastic bags could be a thing of the past in Vincent after councillors voted “in principle” to ban them. City staff will now prepare a report on the costs and ramifications of a ban and write to the state government, requesting that it considers a state-wide fatwa. East Freo town and Fremantle councils have…

SWATHES of traders and city residents are responding to John Carey’s call for ideas to revitalise East and West Perth. The newly elected Perth Labor MP says locals’ suggestions will be brainstormed at the first ever “Perth City Summit”. “The idea has exploded, we’ve had a lot of local interest,” he says. Mr Carey says…

VINCENT will become the “Art Capital of WA” under a new council plan that will banish stuffy old policies and red tape. The plan aims to make “art a part of the day-to-day operations of the city’s administration across all functions” and will include more affordable artist spaces and studios through the town, more funding…