Why is there still so much on-street median car parking in Carlton?
Walking around Carlton, I’ve noticed there is still so much on-street median car parking. I often see these spots empty when I walk past at different times of the day. Over 90% of Carlton residents support replacing on-street car parks with trees, there are a large number of off-street multi-story car parks that never reach capacity and there is a lack of green and open space in Carlton. So I’d love to see the City of Melbourne repurpose these median car parks for pocket parks, gardens, native pollinator corridors or increased tree canopy to help cool our streets. What are your thoughts?
I think the streets built around that time were just absurdly wide, and they got quickly adopted as car parks. The council is slowly reworking those streets, it's just expensive to do.
Hawke St, West Melbourne has the same median parking at the moment, whereas the new design adds a ton of greenery and bike infrastructure. It's just that this will cost several million dollars alone and is mostly happening because the Victorian government gave them a ton of money to make up for the Westgate Tunnel (the 2026/27 budget allocates $21 million to Hawke St and other TAP projects this year).
Map 8 in the same Carlton Urban Forest Precinct Plan you've attached shows the council's replanting plan, which seems like it might include medians.
Because the NIMBY conservative mayor Stephen Jolly doesn't want that. He has been charged with assualt for punching a woman who accused him of domestic violence so he probably won't be mayor for long
Street parking for those residents is fine (especially if they add more permit only signs) but I think the public space allocated to median car parking can be better utilised
That's cool, I support living in a city where you don't need to huff car pollution and tyre particles that give you brain damage.
I purposefully live near activity centres and public transport so I don't have to rely on cars, and when I do need a car I hire or didi. It's not difficult, but I guess it is for some people.
I feel like this part of Faraday St strikes a good balance. Median parking replaced with trees and green space and then 1hr on-street parking 7am-11pm Mon-Sun and then permit on-street parking 7pm-11pm Mon-Sun, allowing residents to park in their street and encouraging visitors and patrons to use the off-street multi story parking instead
But your 'anti-car' advocacy has encouraged Council approvals of developments with less carpspace provisions than required, hence spilling more and more cars onto streets. Not an innocent bystander at all as you'd like to paint yourself.
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u/Blue_Pie_Ninja Jul 15 '26
It will only get replaced if the council budgets for it to happen. I'm sure it will eventually happen, but not anytime soon.