Anthony Templeton: Grubby Yarra River is letting Melbourne down

Melbourne is no longer the envy of the nation thanks to an unreliable council, state government and grubby graffiti-stricken Yarra River precinct.

Melbourne is rightly lauded as the capital for sport, food, coffee, fashion and the arts – just don’t mention the river.

The city is being left behind at a rapid rate of knots with our unloved, poorly maintained and grubby city riverfront areas.

In the past decade or so, Sydney has transformed Barangaroo on Darling Harbour, Perth has built Elizabeth Quay on the Swan River and Brisbane has delivered the award-winning Howard Smith Wharves redevelopment next to the Brisbane River and erected two inner-city pedestrian bridges over it. And almost everyone who has visited Brisbane’s version of South Bank raves about its manicured gardens, pristine walkways and cultural institutions.

Every weekend these areas are packed with locals and tourists enjoying the experience provided by beautifying their key waterfront areas.

Restaurants, cafes and bars are full of people and these areas provide a huge sense of life and activity for their respective cities.

Yet in Melbourne, our inner-city waterway is a real embarrassment when compared against the cities we are competing against.

Melbourne is the capital of sport, food, coffee and fashion—just don’t mention the river. Picture: Nadir Kinani

The footpaths are broken and uneven, particularly along Southbank Promenade, graffiti is everywhere and rubbish is strewn across both sides of the Yarra every weekend morning.

Why are we so far behind other major Australian cities when it comes to the state of our city waterfront areas?

Part of it has to do with complex land ownership arrangements – some of it is owned by state government agencies, other parts owned by Crown Casino and most of the remainder responsibility of the City of Melbourne – and there being a lack of shared vision for what’s required to fix it.

Another factor is the inability of the City of Melbourne to get the basics right and the lack of leadership coming from Town Hall.

The City of Melbourne spent $25m on the Greenline project without the project starting construction. A sod was turned for a media event with outgoing former lord mayor Sally Capp but it turns out the council didn’t have a permit from Melbourne Water to actually start doing the work. You couldn’t make this stuff up!

Last year, the council fenced off arguably the best part of the waterfront, Birrarung Marr, for more than six months without any work happening and then pulled down the fences at the start of this year to allow crowds to get to the Australian Open and for Moomba. It then put up the fences again in March this year and work finally started.

The graffiti along the river, pictured here on the Sandridge Bridge, isn’t helping the cause. Picture: Craig McIntosh

Graffiti is one of the major eyesores along the Yarra River. Picture: Craig McIntosh

The council has decided to redevelop the most attractive and most well-used section of the Yarra River waterfront instead of focusing on areas that desperately need an upgrade like Batman Park or Enterprize Park – which are especially grubby and covered in graffiti.

Not to mention the Greenline still has a $200m funding black hole and its potential completion date looks set to be well into the 2030s – if it is ever finished at all.

Imagine how far ahead Brisbane, Sydney and Perth will be by then.

The southside of the Yarra River will have no direct uplift from the $316m Greenline and currently the council is unable to maintain the pavers on Southbank Promenade or the small patches of lawn between Evan Walker Bridge and Queens Bridge.

These areas are now essentially mud patches flush with litter from Maccas wrappers to durry packets.

Queensbridge Square is completely devoid of any character and the big red stairs look like something out of a B-grade movie set.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece has committed to holding a design competition to re-imagine the area. The competition is meant to be done this year but, in true Town Hall style, we haven’t heard much more about the process since it was announced last year.

Former City of Melbourne mayor Sally Capp turning of the first sod of the infamous Greenline project.

The Greenline project still has a $200m black hole.

A radical idea might be to actually do something to improve the Queensbridge Square given the council has a team full of urban planners, designers and project managers.

For what it’s worth, I’d recommend junking the ridiculous red stairs and adding some greenery to the space to encourage people to gather there instead of just using it as a pedestrian thoroughfare.

Businesses in and around Southbank promenade are fed up waiting for the council to do what it is meant to do and invest in upgrading one of the city’s key waterfronts.

While Mr Reece and the council continue to talk about their plans for the Yarra waterfront, other cities are just getting on with the job and delivering beautiful public spaces that attract people and investment.

Most Melburnians are passionate about our city and love where we live but acknowledging what’s not working is critical to making Melbourne the world’s most liveable city again.

Imagine if we lived in a place where our city’s leaders prioritised delivering projects rather than just sound-bites and quotes?

If we did, Melbourne’s CBD waterfront would be a source of pride and the envy of the nation.

Anthony Templeton is the Herald Sun city editor

Originally published as Anthony Templeton: Grubby Yarra River is letting Melbourne down