Abbotsford is designated as Local Area Place Making (LAPM) precinct #13. Council conducted a LAPM review in 2018 and adopted a plan to be delivered in 2019/20.
Context
Boundaries of LAPM 13 Abbotsford include:
- Johnston Street,
- Hoddle Street,
- Victoria Street and the
- Yarra River.
Schools and educational areas in LAPM 13 Abbotsford include:
- Sophia Mundi Steiner School
- Collingwood Children’s Farm
- Abbotsford Convent
Issues
Consultation identified a number of issues:
Report
O’Brien Traffic delivered their final report in November 2018:
Plan
Council adopted a plan to be delivered in 2019/20:
Budget
Council approved a budget of $1.4m with $500k in 2019/20, $500k in 2020/21 and $430k in 2021/22.
Outcomes
Our view
Streets Alive Yarra applauds Council for adopting a LAPM plan with a significant budget of $1.4m, and even better would have been to:
- Upgrade the whole area to one or more 30 km/h Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
- Construct protected bicycle lanes on Victoria Street, Hoddle Street, Nicholson Street, Johnston Street, Gipps Street and Victoria Crescent
- Convert free parking to either permit-only parking or metered parking
- Remove parking from one side of narrow streets (such as Studley Street and Yarra Street), to ensure at least 3.5 metres of clear space for fire trucks to access homes
Centre median on Nicholson Street
A centre median was installed on Nicholson Street on 24th August 2020, as described on Your Say Yarra, relating to items 17 & 19 in the LAPM plan.
Following a petition asking for the median barrier to be removed, in December 2020 Council removed it and asked Officers to deliver a report that examined the available data on whether the median barrier was working, and whether it increased risk. Streets Alive Yarra conducted a Safe System assessment which concluded that the median barrier had decreased risk. Our submission and assessment can be viewed here.
Streets in Abbotsford
The following pages consider the design of specific streets in Abbotsford:
Local champion
Your local champion for Abbotsford LAPM 13 is Troy Parsons. View all of Streets Alive Yarra’s champions on our supporters page.
I long for inviting and enjoyable urban spaces, and a city that is safe and fun to traverse by walking and riding. A city that allows a child to ride to school independently is a city that is accessible for all. I ran for council and state government under the Australian Cyclists Party banner to achieve this vision. Streets Alive Yarra is precisely the movement we need right now. I’m father to Denali and with our family we offer an ‘aspirational’ vision for Melbourne through our ‘Melbourne City Life’ pages on Facebook or Instagram.
Troy Parsons