The draft should be revised to reflect the facts identified within the Colliers Urban Planning report, and to propose actions that actually have a chance of making a difference.
The facts:
- Vietnamese cuisine is now wide-spread across Melbourne
- Victoria Street no longer has a point of difference
- The future of the street is as the accessible spine of a 20-minute neighbourhood, with regular repeat patronage from local residents dwelling within a walkable and bikeable catchment area
What council should do:
- accelerate the street’s transition by up-zoning all land within the catchment area to a height that is commercially feasible for builders in today’s cost environment
- make the street more attractive to shop and linger, by replacing the car-parking lanes with wider footpaths, trees, bike-over tram stops (not drive-over), and protected bike lanes, with metered shopper parking relocated to the first 10 bays on each side street
Vietnamese cuisine is popular
Vietnamese cuisine is popular all over Melbourne, which means that Victoria Street has lost its point of difference.
Victoria Street has a bright future
The Victoria Street strip is located just 2 to 3 km from the CBD, suggesting that it has the opportunity to transition into a thriving precinct offering a premium inner-city lifestyle.
Local population density is critical for shops
The Colliers Urban Planning report identified that population growth and housing supply within the local area will increase retail spending and on-street activity.
The potential is enormous. The Victoria Street catchment has a larger area than the Hoddle Grid, which has over 54,000 residents, and if Victoria Street had a similar population base, local businesses would have a thriving, vibrant future.
Zoning is a barrier to increased density
The Colliers Urban Planning report identified that the precinct is ideal for higher-density, mixed-used development, but that zoning is a barrier. Zoning is something that Council is able to influence, thereby enabling homes to be built and more people to live within walking distance of Victoria Street. The key is to up-zone to a level which makes construction commercially feasible for developers.
Most people travel a short distance to shops
The Colliers Urban Planning report identified that most people travel less than 1 km to shops, and recommended investing in infrastructure to improve walking and biking.
Game changers
In response to the Colliers Urban Planning Report, the draft Victoria Street Revitalisation Plan is right to propose game changers, specifically deliberate disruption, expect change, not more of the same.
Unfortunately, none of the ‘game changers’ proposed mention the only thing that has a realistic chance of revitalising the street, which is to broadly up-zone land within the catchment area. That action would:
- increase the local population
- improve on-street activity (and thus the perception of safety)
- decrease rents (for both homes and businesses)
Instead, the draft plan proposes generic fluff such as:
- ‘proactively use planning to create an enabling environment’
- ‘provide clear planning controls’,
- ‘meet with developers and host forums‘
Aligning with the primary action to broadly and significantly up-zone, the second game changer should be change from a car-based shopping street to one that focuses on walking, biking, and public transport:
- along Victoria Street, replace the car-parking lanes with wider footpaths, trees, bike-over tram stops, and protected bike lanes
- on each side street, change the first 10 bays to a loading bay, a disabled parking bay, a bike parking corral, and metered parking for shoppers
- use demand-responsive parking charges, so that the fee to park is the lowest it can be while still ensuring that people can find a parking space
- calm the whole catchment area to 30 km/h
- at intersections, build continuous footpaths
Conclusion
The draft should be revised to reflect the facts identified within the Colliers Urban Planning report, and to propose actions that actually have a chance of making a difference.
Published 14 May 2026