Two neighbourhood houses, skatepark promise by Melbourne lord mayoral candidate Jennifer Yang

TWO more neighbourhood houses and a new skatepark have been promised by Melbourne lord mayoral aspirant Jennifer Yang as part of a $6.5 million communities package.

TWO more neighbourhood houses and a new skatepark have been promised by Melbourne lord mayoral aspirant Jennifer Yang as part of a $6.5 million communities package.

The ALP-backed candidate also pledged 11 fitness stations for city parks and four new community playgrounds.

“Our city has more children than ever before and that’s why I’m providing more funding for parental groups, playgroups and playgrounds,’’ Ms Yang said.

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“Skateboarding will become an Olympic sport at Tokyo in 2020 and now is the time for Melbourne to step up and build a premiere, competition-grade skate park.”

Central Melbourne would have another skate park, lord mayoral candidate Jennifer Yang has promised. Pic: Tim Carrafa.

The package also included $350,000 to increase the opening hours for every neighbourhood house, matching the state government’s cash injection.

Ms Yang has also called for Melbourne to bid for World Expo in 2030 and to close the CBD to traffic for a $12 million multicultural festival.

They are just two of the big ideas to emerge during the campaign, another being Sally Capp’s proposal for a Melbourne version of New York’s High Line park.

Ms Yang has also called for the controversial oBikes to be banned.

A survey by the Bicycle Network found that most candidates supported the dockless share bikes with more regulation. But Ms Yang was opposed outright.

“I will ban oBike until they can comply with community expectations. The negative impact on the environment and our streetscape has been unacceptable. I will not continue to give oBike a free pass to litter our city,’’ she said.

But Ms Capp told the survey: “the more bikes the merrier”.

“If elected I will work with the dockless operators to ensure that we are working together to manage some of the well-publicised issues around their use,’’ Ms Capp said.

Greens candidate and serving councillor Rohan Leppert said state government laws were required to tighter regulate share bike operations.

Cr Leppert, a daily cyclist who would give up the mayoral car if elected, also said he would work towards more protected bike lanes and improve the safety of two locations — Exhibition St peak-hour lanes and Queensberry St near the Metro rail works — which he deemed to be unsafe.

Candidate Rohan Leppert said he would work towards creating more protected bike lanes like this one on Wellington St, Collingwood. Picture: Josie Hayden

Candidate Nathalie Nicole O’Sughrue called for a car ban in the CBD.

“I am actually in favour of no vehicles being in the city and making it more pedestrian (and) bike friendly to increase traffic for stores and restaurants,’’ Ms O’Sughrue said.

“If there was no cars we could implement more bike lanes and separate any pedestrians and cyclists to avoid any issues with shared pathways.’’

The comments come as candidate Gary Morgan said that the exhumation of bodies from the World War One battlefields of Fromelles could be the blueprint for his Queen Victoria Market plan.

Two oBikes dumped on a North Melbourne footpath. Pic: AAP

The Melbourne pollster said only a few hundred bodies of the more than 6000 under the market car park would have to be removed under his cheaper alternative proposal to the council’s $250 million plan.

Mr Morgan’s idea for the market renewal would require removing bodies to make way for an underground carpark on the site of Melbourne’s first cemetery.

“In Fromelles, it was possible to DNA test and identify remains over 100 years old,’’ he said.

Mr Morgan is one of 14 candidates vying for the city’s top job, to replace Robert Doyle who quit in February.

The people of Melbourne will have to wait several days for the result of the by-election.

Ballots have to be mailed by 6pm on Friday but the Victorian Electoral Commission said it would count the votes only after all ballots had been received.

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@IanRoyall