A new report presented to Perth city council recommends making the central business district home to light rail, a market hall, more bikes lanes and introducing a cable car to bring tourists down from Kings Park.
The report Shaping Perth city centre: towards 2036 and beyond was developed by urban design and strategy firm Ghel throughout last year and will come before council on Tuesday for consideration.
It highlighted a number of challenges currently being dealt with by the city – including its well known “dull” moniker.
“Many Perthlings still view it as quiet and dull and this study aims to change that, creating a city centre that is lively, exciting, and the most attractive place to live, work, and visit in the metropolitan area,” the report said.
It found there had been a 390 per cent growth in the City of Perth’s residential population between 2009 and 2023, with the number expected to climb after Edith Cowan University opened its city-based campus this year.
“Despite recent growth in the number of people calling the city centre home, residential density remains relatively low compared to other Australian cities,” the report said.
“This lack of a critical mass of residents combined with changing retail trends means the 24/7 energy expected from a city centre is often missing.”
Researchers said Perth should aim to draw inspiration from shopping malls in Berlin, main pedestrian thoroughfares in Sydney, opportunities to embed Indigenous culture from Auckland, street design from Vienna and cycling paths from Copenhagen.
The report said one of Perth’s biggest challenges was the continued over-reliance on private transport. It found the CAT bus system was hard to navigate, fragmented cycling paths and key thoroughfares being used as freeway on and off ramps.
It suggested on-street parking should be mainly for short-users or loading docks, the speed limit should be lowered to 30 kilometres an hour and potentially sink the freeway under tunnels to “reconnect the urban fabric”.
The report’s authors also said light rail – such as trams – could be put on St George’s Terrace and Wellington Street to ease traffic, and recommended a cable car from Kings Park down to the city for tourists.
It also acknowledged Perth’s long-maligned retail spaces, and recommended a market hall be established in the city.
“Hay Street Mall has struggled as a retail-only precinct and should evolve into a vibrant street centred around food and beverage offerings, and entertainment-based offerings,” the report said.
“This transition should be actively curated, with a focus on small-scale independent operators offering unique WA culinary and artisan products.”
Specific plans to help Perth’s homeless population were only mentioned once in the report, saying the city should “collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure vulnerable groups, including people experiencing homelessness, are supported through well-resourced public amenities and visible services, particularly around transport hubs and the malls.”
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