Lord Mayor Sally Capp signals council’s new transport plan will mean changes for CBD cars

Inner Melbourne is set to become a less car-friendly place as Melbourne City Council confirmed its new transport plan will shift focus to pedestrians and public transport, while Lord Mayor Sally Capp admits she’s been called a “car hater”.

Pedestrians are set to be the winners from the City of Melbourne’s new transport plan. Picture: AAP

Inner Melbourne is set to become a less friendly place for cars as Melbourne City Council confirmed its new transport plan will shift focus to pedestrians and public transport.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said action was needed because 89 per cent of trips made in the City of Melbourne were by foot, but walkers had only a quarter of infrastructure space available to them.

“This will not be popular with car-lovers, and I have already been called a car-hater,” she told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Wednesday.

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Lord Mayor Sally Capp says action is needed to clamp down on CBD traffic.

“But we need to get the balance right on the transport modes around our city if we are to support connectivity and liveability and amenity.”

With the council’s updated transport strategy due to be released in weeks, Cr Capp flagged that removing more car parking spaces and widening footpaths were on the cards.

“It has major implications for the way the city works, and we’re really alive to what those challenges are,” she said.

“Balancing our community’s current perceptions around the need for cars and parking versus the future, is really the leadership role that we need to play.”

In a wide-ranging speech on the city’s future, the Lord Mayor embraced Melbourne’s status as the fastest-growing city in the developed world.

“We get obsessed about these numbers, and there are so many people in our community that have a sense of being overwhelmed by all of those big numbers,” she said.

“Let’s grab this opportunity with both hands and harness it to create benefits for all ... now is not the time for inward-looking timidness.”

Melbourne CBD traffic is set for a big shake-up.

Cr Capp called for efficient public transport links to service inner regeneration areas like Fishermans Bend, including the need for work to start on Metro 2 - a tunnel linking Newport and Clifton Hill via the city centre.

The Lord Mayor also outlined the latest on her plan for a Melbourne version of New York’s popular High Line linear park.

“We now call it the Green Line...it runs from Birrarung Marr through to Docklands (via the Yarra’s north bank), with possible future links right up to Royal Park,” she said.

“In other words, the Green Line can wrap around our city, linking our parks and communities to green open spaces.”

Cr Capp said the council’s goal was to increase the amount of green open space in the city by the equivalent of 12 MCGs.

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