In My Community: Cockburn congestion needs a mini solution With car parks full and years to go before the train station is completed, a researcher has suggested a mini bus feeder service for residents from outlying suburbs. Picture: InMyCommunity.com.au Source: PerthNow AN academic proposes a solution to Cockburn congestion, Vincent mayor sad to be leaving and a couple's Gingin star trek cut short.. It's the best of In My Community. Mini bus solution touted for Cockburn Central Bryce Luff, Fremantle Gazette MINI buses servicing low-density areas could be the key to solving Cockburn's car park conundrum, a Curtin University transport researcher says. With the train station at Cockburn Central packed with cars each day, plus with two years to go before the Aubin Grove train station is expected to be finished and on top of recent announcements that fee-free parking is set to be abolished next year, Curtin University's Jemma Green said smaller buses could be the answer. "In Perth, we need to improve the bus system," she said. For example, buses are currently all one size. But it doesn't work to have huge buses carrying a few people from the outlying suburbs. Alannah MacTiernan celebrates a successful Federal Election campaign. Picture: Louise White/InMyCommunity.com.au Source: PerthNow MacTiernan sad to step down as Vincent mayor Sara Fitzpatrick, Guardian Express NEWLY elected Federal Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan says despite her victory over the weekend, she will "be very, very sad to leave Vincent." The popular Vincent Mayor for the last two years said she would need to resign from the role in the coming week, handing over the reins to a fellow councillor filling in for Deputy Mayor Warren McGrath, who will be holidays, until the October 19 local elections. "I managed to get on the budget a full range of things that I really wanted to implement: things that I think would really liven the place up, like the upgrade of the Leederville town centre," she said. We've got all these items on the budget and hopefully they will happen: even smaller ones like the Vietnamese monument and our first Islamic festival (in October). Bella and Hans Wunderlin prepare to bid a sad farewell to the Gingin Observatory. Picture: Bruce Hunt/InMyCommunity.com.au Source: PerthNow Illness cuts short couple's Gingin star trek Lucy Jarvis, North Coast Times HEALTH problems have compelled star-struck wanderers Bella and Hans Wunderlin to sell the Gingin Observatory 18 months after buying it. Mrs Wunderlin said they had reluctantly put the business back on the market after she was diagnosed with the hereditary condition, common variable immune deficiency (CVID). "We are not able to cope (but) it is sad, like giving up a baby," she said. Mrs Wunderlin said she had been getting tired and found her thinking "wasn't 100 per cent" before she was diagnosed. Boundary reforms threaten Scarborough redevelopment Tom Rabe, Stirling Times THE City of Stirling may be forced to scrap or defer major projects, including the recently announced $60 million Scarborough redevelopment, if the State Government's proposed changes to council boundaries go ahead. Stirling Council chief executive Stuart Jardine said if the State Government went ahead with the restructuring of Stirling's boundaries, the council could face a significant fall in its property base, which would directly affect revenue. "We don't want to be alarmist, however if Stirling was faced with the worst case scenario, that being suburbs cut and Vincent being off the table, it would equate to a substantial negative change of 22.6 per cent and the implications are very serious," Mr Jardine said. Perth Airport executive general manager Fiona Lander at the runway. Picture: Elle Borgward/InMyCommunity.com.au Source: PerthNow Perth Airport works may raise flight noise Sarah Motherwell, Southern Gazette CLOVERDALE, Kewdale and Welshpool residents may experience an increase in air traffic noise over the next six months as the Perth Airport closes a runway for maintenance. The 2163m long cross runway, which was designated in 1952 and runs east to south-west, will be closed until March 2014 while two thirds of it is reconstructed and overlaid with a new asphalt surface. "Just as roads and freeways require asphalt resurfacing and repairs, so do runways," Perth Airport executive general manager Fiona Lander said. It is necessary to undertake the works on the cross runway to ensure the safe operation of aircraft and to minimise potential disruptions to flights.