Lord Mayor Sally Capp says graffiti vandalism is giving Melbourne a bad name

LORD Mayor Sally Capp is a fan of the State Library but can’t stand the city’s graffiti scourge. It’s one of her pet frustrations as she nominates her best and worst things in Melbourne.

LORD Mayor Sally Capp has revived the street art versus graffiti debate as she nominates her best and worst things of Melbourne.

Cr Capp is a big fan of the sort of works seen in globally famous street-art precincts like Hosier Lane.

But one of her pet hates is looking out her Town Hall office window and seeing graffiti on Swanston St buildings.

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Lord Mayor Sally Capp outside one of her favourite places in Melbourne, the State Library. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“We have old buildings in the CBD with lots of potential for refurbishment but have graffiti all over them,” she exclusively told the Herald Sun.

“It’s just vandalism. We spend more than $800,000 each year removing it from private and public spaces. It’s not creative, it’s destructive to people’s homes and businesses, and just ends up being cleaned away anyway.”

Graffiti in Melbourne’s CBD.

Cr Capp, who was elected in May after Robert Doyle’s resignation, loves old buildings, with the 1856 State ­Library on Swanston St her favourite.

“I love the fact that such a place, more viewed as heritage of Melbourne, is absolutely heaving with life. It’s a go-to place for so many reasons,” she said.

But she also praises the city’s contrasts, the blending of modern architecture with old in a city that has four seasons.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp, a proud “foodie”, with Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg at the Queen Victoria Market.

The Lord Mayor, a proud “foodie”, cites Melbourne’s cafe culture and food scene as a highlight.

“When people come into Town Hall for tours I’ll ask what’s the thing that really attracted you to Melbourne and they’ll say the restaurant, cafe and bar scene,” she said.

The city’s reputation as an entertainment mecca — be it sport or the arts — is also on her list. Among Cr Capp’s other favourite places is Queen Victoria Market, where she is a frequent visitor.

“I could spend hours there, I go for two things and I come back with five bags full of stuff,” she said.

And the tram network — the world’s biggest — is a source of pride for her, with a key policy to extend the CBD free-tram zone.

Enterprize Park on the Yarra River’s northbank.

As for dislikes, she names the Yarra River northbank area between Flinders and Spencer streets.

“It looks tired and drab, especially considering it is becoming a key gateway into the city,” she said.

Her plan is for an elevated “green line” park to invigorate the area, with more than 2.5km of walking and cycling paths.

A building she doesn’t like is the City of Melbourne’s own Council House 1 at 200 Lt Collins St.

“There’s very limited activation at the ground level, so there’s huge potential for the building to be better connected with the street and ­laneways and provide more exciting areas for pedestrians to enjoy,” she said.

Cars and trams sharing space on Collins St.

A pet frustration for the former Property Council executive is drivers who block CBD intersections in peak hour knowing there is no way they can cross before the lights change.

“It’s unbelievable people do that in this day and age,” she said.

Ms Capp’s other big frustration is waste trucks going through the city “at any time of day and night”, worsening congestion and disrupting CBD dwellers’ sleep.

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