Part of a series of posts by Neil Cownie on The Future of Swanbourne Village

Here comes the cavalry! With Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA) having settled their preferred location for a new bridge and now working towards design and costing of the proposed new alternative bridge within the Swanbourne Village precinct, it is time for the local community to call in the cavalry.

The local communities of Swanbourne, Claremont and Cottesloe need to lobby their councillors to achieve a collaborative approach between the Town of Cottesloe and the Town of Claremont local authorities for the immediate future of the Swanbourne Village. The responsibility lies with the Town of Claremont and the Town of Cottesloe for any potential to see a well-designed refurbishment or replacement of the existing bridge for the use of pedestrians and bikes.

To ensure the survival of the Swanbourne Village precinct we need the local authorities to take charge and ensure that many more factors are considered along with the mandate of the MRWA to provide new infrastructure for vehicles. This is no simple task, as the precinct not only spans two local authorities, but also requires resolution between MRWA & Trans Perth.

To ensure that any State Government expenditure on new bridge infrastructure is well spent, there first needs to be broader planning studies carried out through the precinct. These studies should consider pedestrian and bicycle movement, opportunities to enliven and enhance the local centre, future projections of increased density, opportunities to create civic space, improve the safety of the train station access and security, and consider other future connections across the railway line. Such broad planning studies can be carried out by the Office of the Government Architect (OGA). To obtain the services of the Western Australian OGA there must first be a request from the local authority for the involvement of the OGA. Therefore, I urge everyone within the Town of Claremont and Town of Cottesloe councils to lobby their local councillors to ‘call in the cavalry’ and achieve the involvement of the OGA in the resolution of appropriate expenditure of State Government money on infrastructure. We need the State Governments own METRONET model to be applied to the Swanbourne train station and Village centre.

The Office of Government Architect (OGA) provides leadership and independent strategic advice to government to improve the design of public buildings and spaces and enhance the quality of the built environment. For more information on the OGA you can visit their website at; https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/oga

For more information on the Bridging Communities series you can visit the following link for the background story; https://www.neilcowniearchitect.com.au/bridging-communities/

For more information on the issue of density within the Swanbourne Village visit the following link; https://www.neilcowniearchitect.com.au/swanbourne-density/

Go back to the The Future of Swanbourne Village

The Bridging Communities Series