In two weeks, City of Mandurah councillors will vote on a smoking ban in the Smart Street Mall.
The ban was presented to councillors as a recommendation in a broader report on the Smart Street Mall at a meeting on Tuesday evening.
The mall has been in focus over the last six months, as the City of Mandurah and the community work to boost prosperity and growth in the CBD.
At the Tuesday meeting, councillors acknowledged and welcomed the Smart Street Precinct Working Group, formed to help drive economic development initiatives.
Read more:
The group consists of landowners, business operators and residents who have an interest in the precinct.
It was formed following a community information session held in October 18, 2017.
The move came out of a City of Mandurah plan to collaborate with community to strengthen the commercial hub of the city and in particular the Smart Street Mall.
From that October meeting, the group identified key themes in the feedback provided by the community, including antisocial behaviour, band-aid solutions to significant issues, car parking restrictions, dated infrastructure and smoking.
In a report presented by the sustainable development director Tony Free, banning smoking was identified as a method to help reduce antisocial behaviour and turn the CBD into a family-friendly area.
The City of Perth has a ban on smoking any tabacco products within any mall reserve, which is not an outdoor eating area.
The Smart Street Mall may be slightly different as it is currently designated as a road reserve.
North Ward councillor Peter Jackson said prohibiting smoking in the precinct would be a “bold move” and asked how it would be policed.
Currently, MIG Security patrol the area two days per week, Monday to Friday on random days and times.
City of Mandurah manager of statutory services Brendan Ingle said it would be difficult to crack down on the ban at all hours and that there was a hope it would be “socially driven”.
He said the City of Mandurah would try to develop a social consciousness of the ban in the community.
The City of Mandurah’s Local Government Property and Public Places Local Law 2016 will have to be amended to reflect the ban and be returned to council for approval.
To make the plan a reality councillors will have to give the motion a simple majority at the next meeting on March 27.
If approved the ban could take some time to finalise as drafting the local law would need to consider the current land designation and would need to be advertised.
To view more of the recommendation from the report visit the City of Mandurah’s website.
