About the winner
Michael Heffernan
Michael was born in Perth, and married to Diane with two children Brett (wife Clare) and Tanya (husband Rob) with 4 wonderful grandchildren. Mike is presently living in Geraldton with plans to move to Perth. Mike recently retired with a main career in Management, and has worked in a variety of different jobs. Mike enjoys most sports, gardening, reading and lawn bowls.
What inspired your idea?
I guess the sinking of railway lines in Perth City was the bases for my idea and then a visit to the Subiaco Rail Station area made me start thinking about all the wasted space around existing Railway stations. Then when people started talking about building more roads, rail and light rail I thought why not utilise the space around the existing stations?
What does winning mean for you?
I am always coming up with solutions to problems but rarely share them. This I hope will give me the confidence to do so.
What are the three key steps to take your idea to the next stage?
1.I guess a concept plan needs to be developed and the idea has to be talked about to gather support so the Government looks at it and agrees to all the benefits that would accrue if the idea was implemented
2. A suitable test site would need to be identified so a cost/benefits study could be done
3. The Government could plan incentives to encourage developers.
What will you do with your $500 prize?
Too early to say but putting it towards a holiday is attractive.
