Why Alexander Drive?

The City of Stirling has once again got its distribution wrong when it exhorts me to 'Stay in Stirling'.

The main reason for this, no doubt, is that I live in Mt Lawley, in the City of Vincent, whereas most of Mt Lawley is (for the moment) in the City of Stirling. Ironically, though, Colin Barnett's proposal would have my part of Mt Lawley moving to Stirling, despite Stirling's losing the major part that it currently has.

That got me thinking about why Alexander Drive is proposed by Colin Barnett as the boundary between the enlarged Bayswater/Bassendean and reduced Stirling local governments when it will result in yet more split suburbs.

I have previously mentioned the role of Col's pet projects in setting boundaries and I can't help but wonder if this is another example. The MAX light rail project, which, I hasten to add, I support, runs down Alexander Drive for much of its length. This will raise some potentially difficult issues not only of design for the light rail but also of development around it. If these issues can be fragmented between two Councils, the State Government will be able to play them off against each other and use any disagreements as 'justification' for taking planning out of the Councils' hands.