Speaker 1: North Bridge needs a facelift and there was a vote
Speaker 1: last night by the Perth City Council. Bruce Reynolds is
Speaker 1: the felt like I out there for a moment. Bruce Reynolds
Speaker 1: is the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Perth
Speaker 1: and joins us on the program.
Speaker 2: Bruce, thanks for your time morning, fellas.
Speaker 3: How are you going?
Speaker 2: How'd the vote go?
Speaker 3: Unanimous? Past? Obviously with flying colors. It's an important decision
Speaker 3: and as you said, north Bridge is looking a little
Speaker 3: tired and we've approved this to go through to a
Speaker 3: public consultation phase to get feedback on the plan and
Speaker 3: everything being equal, probably by about twenty twenty eight it
Speaker 3: should be completed.
Speaker 2: What was it neglective for such a long period of time, mate.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right, so twenty years since we've done anything
Speaker 3: significant north Bridge. I guess it's like a lot of things, Milsey,
Speaker 3: what you focus on grows and there's been a lot
Speaker 3: of other places within the city that the city have
Speaker 3: been working on, and so now's the time to find
Speaker 3: that money in the budget to and move it into Northbridge.
Speaker 1: It's amazing this side of the railway station or City
Speaker 1: of Perth side, I would say from Jagan Square all
Speaker 1: the way back to our ac arena that has all
Speaker 1: been redeveloped in more recent times. I just then look
Speaker 1: over the railway line and the other side hasn't. And
Speaker 1: I spoke about just earlier, Bruce. You may have heard
Speaker 1: the empty shops. There's a lot of vacant shops or
Speaker 1: what used to be a thriving Lake Street and streets
Speaker 1: like that where we just need to improve.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, I've I started in north Bridge at the
Speaker 3: printing company as a fifteen year old. Actually, you actually
Speaker 3: came out Mainy one day, visited as mate, and told
Speaker 3: me some national mutual insurance fund and I bought my
Speaker 3: sixteen foot teny after ten years on that and got
Speaker 3: out amongst the recent mindari with it. So yeah, so look, mate,
Speaker 3: So I've been in Northbridge since I was fifteen, seen
Speaker 3: a lot of changes. But this will be as it
Speaker 3: dovetails into the cultural center, this will be fantastic for
Speaker 3: the area and it will be the catalyst you would
Speaker 3: think for investment to swing back into that area.
Speaker 2: Right, So what will I notice when I go in there?
Speaker 3: Alrighty, So for around about the seventeen million mark Carmilsey,
Speaker 3: there will be a very large increase in space for footpaths,
Speaker 3: so that will increase the Alfresco dining area and then
Speaker 3: help with activation for events. There's going to be a
Speaker 3: new improved landscaping, a lot of I think you're up
Speaker 3: to about twenty eight new street trees along James Street,
Speaker 3: a large investment in up to date lighting and that's
Speaker 3: obviously really important, more public art seeding options, and also
Speaker 3: retractable bollards, which doesn't sound like a big thing, but
Speaker 3: when you're able to then close the street off effectively
Speaker 3: for events, it does open that place the whole street
Speaker 3: up for you know, just being a far more safer
Speaker 3: place to hold events of any scar.
Speaker 1: Really, when I recently went there, I struggle with parking
Speaker 1: and I ended up in a Wilson car park where
Speaker 1: I just paid an arm for. I just chewed my
Speaker 1: arm off for the two hours that I went in there.
Speaker 1: I was actually looking at a business in there at
Speaker 1: the time. Is parking going to be worse off and
Speaker 1: are you encouraging people to get public transport to find
Speaker 1: other ways because that is an issue?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is. Ultimately there's a round just shy of
Speaker 3: eighteen hundred off street bays in the area, and I
Speaker 3: certainly would encourage you to use City of Perths parking
Speaker 3: because it's a lot cheaper than other alternatives. On street bays,
Speaker 3: there'll be around about seventy on street bays, So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think typically for the nighttime economy, you find that
Speaker 3: people will you know, will go in via uber or
Speaker 3: go in off the off street parking. Day to day parking,
Speaker 3: obviously it's a challenge. It's a capital city channel challenge.
Speaker 3: There's never enough parking. But at the same time, parking
Speaker 3: comes at a cost with things like trees and amenities
Speaker 3: and open base for a you know, for olf Resco.
Speaker 2: Paul's given you a whack. He said, look at what
Speaker 2: the City of Perth have done. And as Perth WA's
Speaker 2: a pedestrian traffic get shut down and businesses fail, how
Speaker 2: will you negotiate that pathway?
Speaker 3: Well, it's one of those things bills, it's easy to
Speaker 3: throw rocks. But then if you look at the what's
Speaker 3: been gazetted this year alone for completion and then over
Speaker 3: the next three years you've got Perth Convention Center redevelopment
Speaker 3: which will be which will be fantastic. Supreme Court Gardens
Speaker 3: has being redeveloped. The Crillion has basically gone through DAP
Speaker 3: for redevelopment. Pan Pacific have just finished their fifty million
Speaker 3: dollar redevelopment. The Burlo Bridge has been finished, the primary
Speaker 3: school's coming on board, ECU gets finished next year, Whacker
Speaker 3: Gloucester Park Concert Hall. It's never ending, so there's certainly
Speaker 3: a lot of positives in amongst all that and room
Speaker 3: for improvement?
Speaker 2: Are you running for mayor in October?
Speaker 3: I'm running for today?
Speaker 2: Well, why shouldn't he? He's doing a good job.
Speaker 3: So I'm up to a Hilton coudruals at the moment,
Speaker 3: and I've even got the better all cough, Mixtu're out,
Speaker 3: So I'll get through today and tomorrow and let let
Speaker 3: octake you.
Speaker 2: Will you have any candidates running against you? Do you think, Bruce?
Speaker 3: Oh? Not necessarily knowing if anyone was running against me,
Speaker 3: because the election has been called and I haven't nominated.
Speaker 3: But look, it's a prestigious role Milty's and it is
Speaker 3: literally like it well basically regardless of what happens mate
Speaker 3: come October, I would have been, for want of better words,
Speaker 3: and the role of Lord mayor, for out or acting
Speaker 3: Lord mayor or whatever you want to call it for
Speaker 3: ten months, but I'll take that to my grave. It's
Speaker 3: been an amazing experience and I've loved it.
Speaker 2: Get to wear.
Speaker 1: All the gear that Basil we used to wear, or
Speaker 1: do you have to get the top job before you
Speaker 1: have to start wearing that stuff?
Speaker 3: No change to your elected if you find anything in
Speaker 3: the cupboards when you got to there, no Bruce