The plan to slow cyclists along bustling Southbank strip in Melbourne City Council 2019-20 budget

A 300m section of Southbank Promenade will be redesigned to make pedestrians safer in the area between Princes Bridge and the Evan Walker Pedestrian Bridge. Here’s how.

Melbourne city is set to get green spaces by the bucketload over the next 15 years.

Measures to slow down cyclists and keep pedestrians safe in a busy Southbank retail precinct have finally been revealed.

A 300m section of Southbank Promenade will be redesigned with landscape features to stop cyclists “barrelling through” the area between Princes Bridge and the Evan Walker Pedestrian Bridge.

The City of Melbourne’s plan will involve paving treatments and strategic placement of trees and other vegetation in an area that has high pedestrian use, including young families.

THE COUNCIL THAT COULD OUTLAW BIRD-FEEDING

WILDLIFE YOU DIDN’T KNOW LIVED IN MELBOURNE

HURTING BIRDS SWOOP IN FOR START OF SEASON

The Southbank Boulevard and Kavanagh Street bike routes.

However, the council believes that the route will become much less used by cyclists when they have access to an alternative bike route from Swan St Bridge, through the gardens and to Southbank Blvd near the National Gallery of Victoria.

Under the 2019-20 city council budget, $5.1 million will be spent on the Southbank Promenade works, while almost $12 million will go to ongoing works to transform Southbank Blvd and Dodds St to create 2.5ha of public open space.

The dangerous bike and pedestrian collision area in Southbank will get an upgrade.

Pedestrians and cyclists have many near clashes along Southbank. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Complaints of being hit have soared, but many incidents go unreported. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Pedestrians play lottery with their safety during peak times as cyclists zoom along Southbank Promenade.

Ponyfish Island is an attraction on the Yarra River, near Southbank. Picture: David Caird

Meanwhile, people who feed birds in the inner city will be hit by a $100 fine under an assault on bird poo.

Acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood said that feeding birds was neither good for the city nor the animals themselves.

“So, what we are saying to people is, love your animals but just don’t go and feed them,” he said.

There’s an investment in public open space, including Market Street Park.

However, Cr Wood said the council wouldn’t be taking a big stick to the issue.

“I don’t think the intention for us is to swoop down and land on these people (feeding birds),” he said

The fine for feeding animals, which was introduced years ago, is perhaps one of the council’s best-kept secrets.

The plans are contained in the council’s 2019-20 budget released today.

The $619 million budget has an underlying surplus of $15 million, with $97.8 million in parking fees and fines expected to be raised over the next year, up $4 million on 2019-20.

Parking fees will not increase — the cost of on-street parking in the CBD will stay at $7 an hour.

Rates will rise by 2.5 per cent in line with the state government’s rate cap.

The council will continue to deliver the government’s CBD security upgrade over the next year with a $26.6 million state grant.

From its own budget the council will spend $2.6 million for key safety infrastructure, including $1.8 million on street lighting upgrades and 4350,000 for improvements to the Safe City Camera Network.

A big flock of pigeons fly past St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne.

There are 138 CCTV surveillance cameras across the city.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said there would $2.1 million for streetscape improvements on Elizabeth St between Flinders Lane and Flinders St, but works wouldn’t start until early 2020.

“More than 9300 pedestrians use footpaths on either side of Elizabeth St during the morning peak. The upgrade will include new bluestone paving, street furniture, lighting and street trees along an entire city block,” she said.

The area has a sleazy reputation, and the council’s first attempt to improve it came unstuck due to a major commercial building refurbishment nearby.

Pigeons flock to Elizabeth Street.

The eventual plan is for part of the street to be pedestrianised, with cars stopped from travelling south down Elizabeth St between Flinders Lane and Flinders St.

A further $3.4 million will go to create a new city park in Market St next to the Collins Arch, or Pantscraper, development.

Acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood said the goal was to provide 12 MCGs worth of public open space in the city over the next 15 years.

“The full $47 million (Southbank Blvd) project, which will create 2.5ha of new public open space and neighbourhood parklands … is due for completion in 2020,” he said.