Midland carpark nightmare
Dear Echo News,
Reader C Hughes letter Midland Station hopeless (Letters, February 7) hit the nail on the head.

Coming out of the car park trying to make it back to the Midland Shopping Centre is a nightmare.

Adding to the insult they closed one rail crossing only to open a fresh one at Cale Street.

Ask the Minister why and she will tell you that they failed to allow additional land for an over or underpass.

D Cruden
Jane Brook

Midland disability concerns
Dear Echo News,

I am writing in response to the letter published by C Hughes Midland Station hopeless (Letters, February 7)

I have contacted Metronet regarding the issue of the lack of support for the disabled and aged that are travelling on and off the trains when the new Midland train station is finally established.

I gather the distance is approximately 240m to the carpark from the station and a little less to the bus station when that is completed.

Metronet has passed the concerns to Transperth which I am yet to have a response.

I have asked for a small transport vehicle to convey aged and disabled passengers coming and going to the train station through the bus station and to the carpark which could be easily driven by a Transperth employee.

I have also asked for a five-car disability parking to be situated outside the train station as easy access.

Surely there would or could be a pathway created for that as well as pedestrian, bike and other modes of transportation.

I am also going to add that there is a need for a certain amount of ‘women only parking’ spaces in the car park closest to the entrance/exit for safety reasons as there are health workers and women coming off the trains early evening and late at night.

A Brown
Midland

Kalamunda pedestrian concerns
Dear Echo News,

The City of Kalamunda’s consultation on the proposed McDonalds drive-thru and takeaway/restaurant has now closed.

It is now up to the city’s planning officers to make their recommendation to the committee.

As local MP, I’ve long been concerned about pedestrian safety in the Kalamunda townsite and particularly across the Canning Road in this location.

The City of Kalamunda asked me after I was elected in 2017 to convince Main Roads WA to approve a signalised (press-button) crossing across Canning Road in front of the IGA.

Through Minister Saffioti’s office, I lobbied on the city’s behalf and in September 2020 Main Roads changed their minds and gave the city the go-ahead to replace the existing confusing crossing with traffic lights.

I immediately wrote to the then chief executive officer with the good news.

Older people and people with visual impairment living on the Heath Road side of Canning Road, plus Kalamunda Primary School students and their families, plus IGA shoppers and Stirk Medical Centre patients are amongst the many people disappointed that the City of Kalamunda has still not installed a proper crossing.

I note that the city mentions the crossing in its 2024/25 annual budget, but I can’t see any preparatory activity happening onsite.

I hope the city does not view the McDonald’s plan as an opportunity to have the proponent deliver the crossing.

Matthew Hughes
Kalamunda MLA

Election signs are pollution
Dear Echo News,

I hate election signs - they are ridiculous visual pollution that adds nothing of value to the political process.

They often become litter in the streets, destroy visual amenity and distract from other important matters for the community.

It has been shown that they make no difference to the voting outcome, such as the 2021 state election, the Liberal candidate for Midland absolutely plastered the district, with a ridiculous lead-time before election day, and her two-party preferred result actually dropped by 11.5 per cent from the previous election.

Similar results have been seen in recent local government elections also.

All political hopefuls be warned: I will be putting in my best efforts to have all offending election signs removed by any legal means I can find.

I will be formally complaining to the relevant local governments, Main Roads WA, state and federal electoral commissions about any non-compliance with their policies.

Federal election hopefuls especially take note that you cannot be a legitimate candidate when the date of the election has not even been announced and I highly object that we may have to endure this garbage for more than three months yet.

The confusion you are creating with the state election is completely out of order and unacceptable.

For those who agree with me, please respond to this and publicise your view anywhere you can (newspapers, social media, etc) to let these ‘hopefuls’ know that what they are doing is not acceptable to the community and likely to be counter-productive to their cause.

Election sign ninja
Name and address supplied