Pedestrians, cyclists to get extra 20 Bourke St malls of space in CBD
Road and on-street parking equivalent in size to 20 Bourke Street malls in Melbourne’s inner city will be repurposed to make space for pedestrians, cyclists and greenery.
A radical reshaping of the city’s streets that gives pedestrians and cyclists more priority over cars will take place between now and 2030, according to Melbourne City Council’s draft transport strategy, released on Thursday.
“Our streets, footpaths, public spaces and transport hubs must adapt for the variety of ways people are travelling around our city today and into the future,” lord mayor Sally Capp said.
The council’s 10-year vision for the city’s transport has identified pedestrian overcrowding at train stations, tram stops and intersections as a key concern.
“We know that a 10 per cent increase in pedestrian connectivity can deliver an extra $2.1 billion to Melbourne’s businesses," Cr Capp said.
“At the moment, 89 per cent of all trips in the central city are on foot and walkers face increasingly overcrowded footpaths.”
Some of the city’s off-street parking – taking up a whopping 30 MCGs worth of space – will be converted for pedestrians, cyclists and trading uses.
How artificial intelligence can be used to tweak traffic light cycles in the Hoddle grid to give trams, cyclists and pedestrians priority will also be investigated by the council in partnership with VicRoads.
It can take up to 120 seconds for the lights to change in the Hoddle grid, and if that wait time was reduced, delays for pedestrians could be cut by up to 50 per cent at the busy corner of Spencer and Collins Street.
Within the next four years the council will look to build more pedestrian crossings across the city and reduce crossing distances.
It will also aim to build "world-class pedestrian precincts” at Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations and extend and de-clutter footpaths.
The council is also hoping to to make Melbourne Australia’s “premier bike city” by expanding the 6 kilometres of protected bike lanes to more than 50 kilometres by 2030.
It will call for a road rule review to allow cyclists to turn left at a red light and look to redesign intersections to include physically protected bike lanes up to and through intersections. Cyclists would also get a head start at traffic lights.
The strategy also calls for 30km/h or lower speed limits to be trialled in the city over the next four years and wants a congestion charge to be examined.
The council is also demanding more reliable and frequent public transport through the city, and will work with the state government to give trams and buses dedicated lanes and upgrade stops to reduce loading times and create more separation from cars.
Efforts to minimise incidents where vehicles block intersections will get underway, and council will accommodate more rail replacement buses during train disruptions.
Sections of Melbourne’s "Little" streets would also be converted to pedestrian priority "shared zones", meaning they could be closed to cars at different times of day and speed limits reduced, the document highlights.
This policy, rolled out over the decade, is designed to extend Melbourne’s laneway culture by providing better linkages between the city's small streets.
About 300 motorcycles currently crowding footpaths would also be allocated to designated parking bays by 2022.
The council will also push for trams to reach Fishermans Bend by 2022, and the building of Melbourne Metro 2 – a new underground rail line linking Clifton Hill and Newport via the urban renewal area.
Boosting electric bikes and cars through the city, and a new regulatory framework for dockless shared bikes will also be examined.
All changes to the city’s roads would be designed to still give service delivery and vehicles access throughout the city.
The strategy is yet to be endorsed by the council and will go through six weeks of consultation before a final version is released.