Rarely A Dull Moment - What happened at the Strategic & General Services Committee Meeting on 14 October 2026?

Welcome back to our regular feature, Rarely a Dull Moment where we report on the highlights of City of Fremantle Council and Committee meetings and other activities. We would have titled the feature Never a Dull Moment, but didn’t want to overpromise!

In 2026, we are very pleased to welcome Jenny Archibald to the RADM desk. Jenny will be well known to many Freo folk as a former Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor of the City of Fremantle. Jenny brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role as our RADM reporter and we are sure Shipees will look forward to her regular RADM reports.

Welcome readers to our RADM report for the Strategic and General Services Committee Meeting of 14 October 2026. With seven items being determined by the committee and three being sent on to Council for final determination, it was again a mix of topics.

The committee decisions were for:

*the renaming of a street (currently Stirling St) and proposed street names for the Davis Park Precinct;

*the next 5-year bike plan (draft);

*a local law;

*the South Terrace traffic nodes;

*a policy exemption; and

*a 4-year mowing contract.

The committee also considered the:

* 5-year Health and Well Being Plan,

* Booyeembara Concept Plan, and

*adoption of the draft Waste Local Law –

and these three will go on to the full Council meeting on 28 October 2026.

Two Committee members, Crs Camarda and Graham, were apologies with Crs Williamson Wong and Sullivan deputising.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME –

two people from Stirling St spoke to the Committee on Item SGSC2610-1 RENAMING STIRLING STREET, FREMANTLE which proposes to rename the street to Manitj Street. Concerns were expressed around the cost of changes, the confusion created, the procedure and paperwork involved. Questions were also asked of why there had been no consultation with the residents and businesses in the street, which was clarified by CEO Glen Dougall – in that this would occur once the Committee had agreed to the proposal for the purpose of public consultation.

THE HEADLINE STORY –

the most discussed by the committee members was Item SGSC2610-4 SOUTH TERRACE NODES AND TEMPORARY SPEED CUSHIONS, which covered some 24 Minutes of debate. This was closely followed by SGSC2610-3 DRAFT BIKE PLAN 2026-2031 and SGSC2610-7 FCC719/26 – MOWING SERVICES, at around 16 minutes each.

The South Terrace nodes item relates to the “Council’s resolution of 27 May 2026 seeking a review of previous commitments to implement six urban nodes and temporary speed cushions along South Terrace between South Street and Douro Road, and to also consider design options for zebra or wombat crossings coinciding with the following intersections along South Terrace” of Jenkin Street, Little Lefroy Road and Scott Street.

The report “summarises the program’s known chronology, reviews the two completed South Terrace nodes at Little Lefroy Road/Sydney Street and Jenkin Street, and details design considerations and comparative priorities for the remaining works”. Lots of interesting information is included in the Officers’ report on this project, which has been going since inception in 2014.

Temporary rubber speed cushions were installed in 2017 to reduce speeds while permanent node designs and coordinated road and verge works were developed. This was followed by the first node of Little Lefroy/Sydney St, completed in 2018.

The second node at the intersection of Jenkins St and South Tcewas completed in 2021/2022. The City had also received approval in April 2021 from Main Roads (MRWA) to “reduce the posted speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h” with new signs installed in July 2021. Both nodes included “use raised platforms, narrowed traffic lanes, improved sight lines and wider pedestrian areas, supported by streetscape and drainage improvements”.

While an additional four nodes are proposed, the first of these, Scott St, has recently been approved for Black Spot funding from the WA State Government along with additional funding from the City in the 2026/2027 budget. The design includes two more conventional Zebra crossings.

Various rounds of public consultation have been carried out since 2014, including between “23 February 2026 and 30 March 2026 to capture community feedback and determine where new pedestrian crossings could be located based on user behaviour”.

With that, councillors hopped in and debated the merits of the program review. Cr Sullivan sought to introduce the concept of two “naked street” type urban precincts based on Mondermandesign principles. In his written reasoning for his alternate motion, Cr Sullivan adds that “this retains support for unconstrained pedestrian movements at urban precincts and naked-street nodes while adding support to introduce zebra crossing across South Terrace at strategic pedestrian crossing points and busy four-way intersections where raised intersections plateaus are established”.

While he supported a good deal of the recommendations from the Officers, he was not sure that this “kind of design was what was wanted for the rest of the street” and wants to see “the whole street down to 30kph”. This view was not shared by Cr Slaughter who had commented that she “personally had a problem with naked streets….given ambiguity of the intent....and was not sure that works for us. It may be confusing”….and…. “wants zebra crossings which mean more than pretty pictures”. In summing up, she confirmed that she “wants to go back to basics, with Scott St the highest priority”. Cr Williamson Wong concurred, noting that the nodes “have not delivered….and it was still not great”. She considered use of precincts for managing the street traffic a better alternate. In summing up, she stated she was “excited about the funding for the Scott St crossing”.

Cr Mofflin was not entirely convinced with Cr Sullivan’s proposal either, asking whether this should be referred on to the next Council meeting for input from all Council members, and questioning whether Point 7 of the alternate motion, which requests that “project costs, delivery timeframes, and the forward planning schedule be reviewed on the basis of the prioritisation described in 6 above for consideration as part of the annual budget process”,should be agreed by the Committee. Part 6 (referred to above) related to a revision of the project priority “in the following order: a. Scott Street node; b. zebra crossings (subject to MRWA approval); c. improved traffic calming and planting between nodes (ongoing/incremental); d. the ‘South Beach Precinct’ (subject to investigation); and, e. ‘The Local Precinct’ (subject to investigation)”.

All up, Cr Sullivan argued that “naked streets” exist in many parts of the world” but that they “don’t work if speeds are there”. With that last word, the alternate motion was approved unanimously under Committee delegation. The Scott St intersection to proceed and more work on the remainder to be done in due course – and which will be reported back to the committee.

AND EVERYTHING ELSE

Of the remainder, Item SGSC2610-1 RENAMING STIRLING STREET, FREMANTLE was certainly an interesting discussion on the proposed renaming of Stirling St to Manitj St, although this did gather concerned business and resident feedback about the impact, cost and confusion this may create. (Note: Manitj refers to the White Cockatoo). This proposal follows the formal apology by the Governor of Western Australia in October 2025 to Bindjareb Nyoongar people for the 1834 Pinjarra massacre, which was led by Western Australia’s first Governor, James Stirling.

In Committee discussion, the Mayor related the story of King County in Washington State in USA where, given King (whom the County was named after) had a long association with slavery and a change was sought by the County’s community. In efforts to make the process as smooth as possible, the County was renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. As Mayor Lawver commented “So there was no cost because it is still King County…..I would just challenge that maybe there might be a Stirling out there in Australian history who has done some good works.” Cr Mofflin argued in support of the change in that names can be quickly forgotten, and noted with the renaming of King’s Square to Walyalup Koort that he “was having trouble remembering what it used to be called”. All committee members agreed it was important to acknowledge the Walyalup Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group’s input to this discussion and unanimously supported the item going out for public consultation.

Then another road name item – SGSC2610-2 ROAD NAMING – DAVIS PARK PRECINCT. This was more straightforward, though Councillors were not impressed with the choice on offer. That said, the proposal for Gelso Lane and Canopy St as proposed by Development WA was in the end supported, and the Committee took the opportunity to ask for other names that are more relevant to this area be considered for the remaining streets within the development.

Item SGSC2610-3 DRAFT BIKE PLAN 2026-2031 was next, and with some debate around the need to maintain flexibility over the life of the plan and that some aspects will be difficult to implement. Overall it was reiterated that the BUG group and others just wanted the plan to progress. The item was unanimously supported and will now go out for public consultation.

Item SGSC2610-5 DRAFT LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPERTY AND PUBLIC PLACES LOCAL LAW 2026 was approved with amendment and unanimously approved. This proposal plans to combine the two local laws to reduce duplication across provisions that govern public places, which includes thoroughfares and local government property. It will also go out for public consultation.

The item SGSC2610-6 PURCHASING POLICY EXEMPTION – WESTERN POWER relates to “the engagement of Western Power as the sole provider for electrical headworks and network supply upgrade works required for Stevens Reserve energy infrastructure compliance and capacity”, and was approved without discussion. But Item SGSC2610-7 FCC719/26 – MOWING SERVICES did garner a good deal of debate and questions of Officers on which areas of the City the contract was for, the questioning of the standard of lawn maintenance, weed control and others. But all up, staff clarified the various aspects to this contract, and it was likewise approved unanimously.

The last three items were those going on to the next Council meeting on 28^th October 2026. The first of these was the SGSC2610-8 ADOPTION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING (PUBLIC HEALTH) PLAN 2026-2031 which has returned for final signoff by Council following considerable public consultation and debate with many of the stakeholders and community. Following an amendment to have a report come back to Council prior to the 2027 midterm review, it was approved by the Committee for Council consideration.

The item SGSC2610-9 BOOYEEMBARA PARK NORTH LANDSCAPE CONCEPT PLAN 2026 follows a community request that the long-term budget be revised to consider recent public consultation on the various projects proposed as part of the Booyeembara Park North Landscape Concept 2026. Cr Slaughter, on a roller at this meeting, acknowledged that there had been “lots of strategic thinking and doing by the Boo Park Friends of group and reference group…and that there was a need to act rather than talk”. Cr Williamson Wong concurred, noting that Steph Jennings of the Friends of Booyeembara Park Group and reference group had included in her email “not to complicate designs…but to make it better”. This item will also go on to the next Council meeting.

And lastly, Item SGSC2610-10 ADOPTION OF DRAFT WASTE LOCAL LAW 2026. This was a fulsome journey of consultation and revision, with the “purpose of the proposed City of Fremantle Waste Local Law 2026 …to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the management, collection, disposal and enforcement of modern waste services across the City”. The item was wholesomely supported by the Committee, with Cr Williamson Wong stating that as a former “bin tagger” she “loved waste!” The Mayor reminded the meeting that this was also National Recycling Week with “all sorts of things happening”. Again, this item is going to Council in two weeks for final signoff.

And that’s it. In closing, Cr Mofflin noted this as the longest Strategic and General Services Committee Meeting at just under two hours…….

Signed off at 7.51pm. Goodnight Freo.

*By Jenny Archibald

~ For earlier RADM reports look here.

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