Town Hall’s secret plan to slow traffic to 30km/h in East Melbourne revealed

City of Melbourne wants this inner-city suburb to be a 30km/h speed zone, with councillors set to consider plans for an upcoming trial.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said drivers speed through East Melbourne to cut through to the MCG.

Streets in East Melbourne would become 30km/h speed zones under a proposal by Melbourne City Council, the Herald Sun can reveal.

The Town Hall plan to slow traffic on local streets in the affluent suburb is expected to be presented to councillors for a decision in the future.

The project is likely to be trialled at first and will exclude arterial roads such as Victoria Parade, Albert St and Wellington Parade to ensure traffic flow.

The move would also bring the inner suburb in line with Yarra council’s 30km/h speed zones in neighbouring Fitzroy and Collingwood.

The Jolimont precinct near the MCG is also being considered for the slowdown project.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece wants East Melbourne to be safe. Picture: David Caird

Any change would have to be signed off by the Department of Transport and Planning.

But Luke Martin from residents’ organisation the East Melbourne Group said the council was looking for a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

“They’re putting a Band-Aid on a healed wound.”

Mr Martin said he believed the 30km/h idea was in response to residents’ objections to proposed speed humps in local streets such as Powlett St.

“East Melbourne is already the city’s most walkable suburb.

“Don’t spend money on speed humps or on something people are not looking for.

“A lot of residents would want 30km/h zones if it meant no speed humps.

“But really, they’re saying just spend your money on something else.”

Residents are also concerned about visual clutter in the heritage precinct.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said community safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists was a priority.

“I am sick of people speeding on neighbourhood roads, the rat runners, putting life and limb at risk,” Mr Reece said.

“Residents have told me they are frustrated by the prevalence of suburban rat-runs, impacting pedestrian safety and creating congestion on neighbourhood streets.

East Melbourne could be the municaplity’s first 30km/h suburb.

Mr Reece said East Melbourne was “notorious” for people speeding through local streets to get to the MCG or the CBD.

“If it’s choice between a suburb strewn with speed humps or a lower speed limit I suspect a lot people would prefer less speed humps and the lower limit.”

The latest proposal follows other decreased speed limit changes in other suburbs within the Melbourne municipality over the past decade.

New 40km/h speed signs were erected in Kensington’s local streets in August 2016.

And most local roads in North and West Melbourne were reduced to 40km/h, including busy Arden St, from April 2023.

The Herald Sun revealed that the council diverted cash from its $100m pandemic economic recovery fund to create those 40km/h zones in the inner north and west.

And from June 16, the speed limit on some local streets in Parkville and Princes Hill will also slow to 40km/h.

Yarra Council said slower speeds in Fitzroy and Collingwood had resulted in “drastic changes” when compared to the number of crashes and injuries before 2018.

Mr Reece said he had written to Roads Minister Melissa Horne to request the state government consider community consultation on the introduction of 30km speed zones in East Melbourne.