Greenline Project Melbourne won’t be completed until at least 2030

Construction on Sally Capp’s hyped Greenline Project – which would activate and connect the city’s river and wharf precincts – won’t start for two years, meaning completion will be 12 years after it was first pitched.

A render of the project at Collins Wharf.

Most of the construction on Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s much-hyped Greenline won’t start until 2026 and work on the project won’t be complete until 2030 at the earliest, according to a masterplan released by the City of Melbourne.

Only one section of the project, along a stretch of Birrarung Marr called the river promenade, will start before 2026.

Two parts of the Birrarung Marr section of the Greenline project, near Flinders Walk and Federation Wharf, won’t start until 2028.

Works to improve the area around Batman Park won’t start until 2026, works to spruce up Banana Alley and its surrounds won’t start until 2028 and upgrades to the sections in Docklands also won’t start until 2028 or later.

A render depicts the area known as Seafarers, upon completion of the project.

The tree canopy walk section of the project won’t start until 2028.

Ms Capp first proposed the Greenline – then referred to as a Highline – when she first ran for Lord Mayor in the 2018 by-election.

It is scheduled to take around 12 years to get to project completion from when Ms Capp first raised the proposal.

The Victorian Government will have delivered the new Metro tunnel – which includes twin 9km underground tunnels and five new underground stations – in 10 years from planning to completion. The multi-billion dollar underground rail project is expected to open late next year.

The 4km-long Greenline project has been bogged down with delays and still has a funding black hole of around $200 million for the estimated total cost of $315.6 million. The only contribution from another level of government has been $20 million from Canberra.

Ms Capp said further plans would be needed to complete construction work on individual sections of the masterplan.

“Conceptually the Greenline Project will connect the north bank of the river through the idea of a ‘woven line’, creating a continuous walkable riverside journey, an enriched ecological corridor and a sequence of riverside destinations that are inclusive, safe and accessible,” she said.

“Our master plan outlines concepts across five interconnected precincts that make up the Greenline Project – Birrarung Marr, The Falls, River Park, Maritime and Salt Water Wharf.

“The precincts will be delivered in stages, with each project concept presented to the public for consultation before we commence work.”

The project aims to activate currently unsightly and unused parts of the city.

The project is 4km long and will cost more than $315m.

The masterplan also leaves open the possibility of renaming parks along the riverfront including Batman and Enterprise parks – potentially to Indigenous names or recognising prominent women.

As part of the community engagement for the masterplan, locals warned the project needed to ensure cyclists and walkers were not put at risk of hitting each other due to poor planning.

“To minimise safety risks and potential conflicts of space between cyclists, scooter users, and pedestrians, respondents expressed their desire for separate bike lanes along the Greenline Project, instead of the proposed pedestrian-focused shared path,” the report said.

“There were suggestions to include bike lanes with consistent design and clear markings to separate cyclists and pedestrians.”

The current plan involves creating a shared-use area along the 4km stretch of new pathways.