Yarra’s streets can be better for trees if we re-allocate space from on-street parking to placemaking and tree planting:
Benefits
Trees offer many benefits, such as cooling the city, cleaning our air and increasing property values.
Making space for trees
Wider footpaths can host larger numbers of people walking as well as space for trees and seating.
Example – shopping street
Typical 20-metre wide tram-based shopping streets, such as Swan Street or Brunswick Street, can have 6.4m wide footpaths that offer space for walking, trees and cycling.
Example – access street
Typical 15-metre wide access streets, such as Cremorne Street, can have trees on opposite the side to the overhead power lines, enabling trees to grow to their full height.
Guidance from Strong Towns
Strong Towns has described the magic of tree lined streets:
Support from Council
The City of Yarra has adopted an Urban Forest Strategy, and has published guidelines on embedding green infrastructure. Streets Alive Yarra supports the vision, objectives and targets of the strategy; and even better would be a higher target based on a commitment to reallocate space away from on-street parking.
Support from Resilient Melbourne
Resilient Melbourne and The Nature Conservancy have published Living Melbourne: Our metropolitan urban forest strategy:
Design guides
Learn more from this collection of design guides, including the Adelaide Design Manual Section 05 on Greening:
