Cars driven out of Melbourne CBD under radical council plan
Pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users would get priority and inner-city streets would be restricted to 40kmh under a radical City of Melbourne proposal to cut the number of cars coming into the city by 50,000 a day.
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The state Opposition has branded some people at the Melbourne City Council as “car-haters” in the wake of the council’s new transport plan.
Most inner-city streets would be restricted to a 40kmh limit under the strategy to drastically reduce the number of cars travelling through the CBD.
Pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users will get priority under the radical proposal to cut the number of cars coming into the city by 50,000 a day.
But the RACV has warned the idea will present enormous challenges, because motorists have limited alternative routes.
Opposition Transport spokesman David Davis said he appreciated there were challenges in incorporating both cars and other modes of transport but said the plan lacked thought.
“I think this is the council and the government working in unison and there is no doubt that there are some in the government and some in the council that hate cars and they want to make it as difficult as possible,” he said.
“The impact on the city, the fact that you will get alternate routes start to develop and they don’t seem to have thought his through in the full way that they should have...can only lead to more congestion.”
The council’s Transport Strategy 2030, which was launched today, also calls for all streets in the Hoddle Grid, except King St, to have one traffic lane each way.
Road and on-street parking space would be reallocated to pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, green areas and trading under the 10-year blueprint.
Over the next four years protected bike lanes will be built on Exhibition St, the Latrobe St bridge and on Rathdowne St, and 300 new on-street motorcycle parking spaces created.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the plan would boost the city’s liveability by striking the right balance between all transport modes, with an extra 500,000 people a day expected to be in the central city by 2036.
“From building separated bike lanes for those riding, widening footpaths for pedestrians, introducing on-street parking bays for our motorcyclists and creating speed consistency for our motorists … we want to encourage everyone to come to Melbourne, by train, tram, car, bike or foot,” she said.
Working with state and federal governments, the council will lobby for congestion pricing such as motorists paying a charge to enter the inner city, with prices lower during the off-peak and depending on passenger numbers and emission levels.
But the Andrews Government has ruled out a congestion tax and said it had no plans to introduce one.
It also said that the Transport Department regularly reviewed speed zones with both safety and driver behaviour in mind.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan thanked the city council for its work on the transport strategy – “we will continue to work with them to keep Victorians moving”.
“With a large amount of disruption happening in the CBD as we get on with our Big Build – any proposals will need to be considered as the Government continues to manage that disruption,” she said.
An analysis by Deloitte Access Economics estimated the whole transport strategy would reap $87 million in annual economic benefit for the state due to improved safety, increased travel efficiency and better use of land.
A key plank of the plan is to reduce the number of vehicles entering the Hoddle Grid from 200,000 a day now to 150,000 by 2027. The proportion of CBD through-traffic would plummet from 43 per cent to 21 per cent by 2030 .
The council backed away from a previous draft proposal to trial 30kmh speed limits across the CBD, but now wants to consult the state government on implementing a wholesale 40kmh limit across the municipality.
Only the Hoddle Grid and some inner roads now have a 40kmh limit.
Transport portfolio chairman Nicolas Frances Gilley said drivers were confused by inconsistent speed zones in the City of Melbourne and neighbouring council areas.
“If you’re driving in from the east, you have 40kmh on the local streets in the City of Yarra, then 50kmh in East Melbourne, before reaching the central city where it’s 40kmh again,” Cr Gilley said.
“Parkville, Yarra’s Edge and other city fringe suburbs are all built-up areas with schools, shops, parks and lots of pedestrians and cyclists.
“By bringing them into line with 40kmh, it would be much simpler for motorists … and much safer for people walking and riding bikes.”
Limits could be even lower for narrower CBD thoroughfares such as Lt Collins St and Flinders Lane, to make them more pedestrian-friendly.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the congestion tax was off the table because the council had no power to introduce one.
“We’re putting that up as a suggestion to the state government as something to talk about, and they have already told us they are not interested in talking about that with us in the short term,” she told 3AW.
Cr Capp accused drivers of going through the CBD to other destinations of using “rat runs”.
Parking Australia CEO Stuart Norman was disappointed that technological solutions to help motorists find a car park quickly and efficiently were not a council priority.
“We support any initiative by the council to reduce the numbers of car passing through the CBD, but not at the detriment of those who choose to drive and park in the city,” he said.
“Cars and those who travel to the city in them make Melbourne a more dynamic and vibrant city.”
RACV general manager of public policy Bryce Prosser said: “We believe reducing traffic through the central city is an enormous challenge as there are often limited alternative routes.
“Any attempts to hinder the movements may have unintended consequences by impacting other corridors and neighbouring suburbs.”
COUNCIL’S PUSH FOR PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLE-FRIENDLY CITY
Motorists will be driven away from the heart of Melbourne under council plans to replace carparking and lanes of traffic with bike paths and slower pedestrian-friendly streets.
The City of Melbourne’s Transport Strategy 2030 has outlined a vision in which car use is stripped back to reclaim more space for people walking through the city.
The CBD’s popular “little streets” are set to be turned into pedestrian priority zones, where cars must give way to walkers and speeds could be slashed to as low as 10kmh.
Upgrades will also encourage people and businesses to use the streets as a footpath, with the potential to shut them to traffic for part of the day.
In May, it was announced about 130 car parks on Exhibition St would be removed to make space for protected bike lanes. This trend is set to continue as the council paves the way for a network of roads friendly to cyclists.
In total, the council wants to claim more than six MCGs’ worth of road and parking space for other uses.
Transport portfolio chair Nicolas Frances Gilley said the plan would make the city safer and less congested.
“We have thought very carefully about the kind of Melbourne we want and need in order to boost prosperity and efficiency, but also to be a place for people to meet, dine outdoors, shop and have space to enjoy everything our city is famous for,” Cr Gilley said.
“We can achieve this by alleviating congestion on our footpaths, where 89 per cent of trips are made, by committing to make Melbourne the nation’s leading bicycle city and by creating great civic destinations around our city stations.”
The City of Melbourne’s vision as Australia’s cycling capital will see huge investment in building more than 50km of protected bike lanes.
Other proposals include converting roundabouts to conventional intersections more suited to pedestrian traffic. Changes to traffic lights would also be explored to give trams and pedestrians more time to move than drivers.
Urban designer and academic Jonathan Daly said there was a limited amount of space in the city, with competing demands.
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“The research shows there is an oversupply of on-street carparking while off-street parking is under-utilised,” he said. “At the same time, there’s been an incredible increase in the number of pedestrians in the city, and there’s going to be even more.”
But Mr Daly said there would be challenges in managing public reaction.
“Adjustment can be difficult in some cases because people aren’t used to it,” he said.
“But there is no city in the world where this has not resulted in positive outcomes.”
RACV general manager of public policy Bryce Prosser said projects that removed car space should be assessed carefully to minimise the impact on business deliveries..