Jacinta Allan praises return of visitors to Melbourne CBD

Premier Jacinta Allan has trumpeted the return of visitors to Melbourne’s CBD, despite activity around public sector workplaces continuing to remain low.

Visitors have returned to Melbourne’s CBD. Picture: Ian Currie

Premier Jacinta Allan has trumpeted the return of visitors to Melbourne’s CBD, despite activity around public sector workplaces continuing to remain low.

City of Melbourne data, provided to the Herald Sun, showed daytime activity across the CBD, Docklands and Southbank was now 7 per cent higher than in July 2019.

However, pedestrian sensors near Victorian public sector workplaces continue to show lower levels of foot traffic than the rest of the city.

Jacinta Allan has praised the return of visitors to Melbourne’s CBD, despite activity around public sector workplaces remaining low. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Ms Allan rejected suggestions Melbourne was “dead” saying foot traffic data showed pedestrian activity had returned to pre-Covid levels.

“We are now back with better than pre-pandemic levels during the weekday, in terms of the number of people moving around the city,” she told Triple M.

“We have sensors that track foot traffic, so we can get a sense of how to manage the foot traffic.

“And we are back at and better than 2019 levels. The busiest day before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic is Friday.

“I think it’s important that putting aside political views or what else might be going on: let’s just back our city in, back in all those restaurants, and traders, and people who work around the city, who are absolutely supporting a pumping city.”

According to the data, the busiest weekday before, during and after the pandemic was Friday. Picture: Ian Currie

Ms Allan’s comments come just weeks after Melbourne businesses pleaded for the state government to mandate a full-time return to the office for public servants.

Currently, Victorian public servants are expected to work from the office at least three days a week under a “flexible work policy”, which has been in place since March 2021.

But the government was unable to say whether departments actively monitor how often public servants are working from their desks — and if they were meeting their requirements to be on-site at least three days of a week.

According to the City of Melbourne data, the busiest weekday before, during and after the pandemic was Friday, while Saturday remained the busiest weekend night.

During the pandemic, pedestrian activity dropped an estimated 50 to 60 per cent lower than 2019, with night-time activity in July 2020 down 82 per cent compared to July 2019.