The Victoria state government has released Plan for Victoria – let’s see what impact it will have on Yarra.
Housing Target
Yarra has been assigned a housing target of 44,000 more homes by 2050, requiring an average of 1,700 new homes per year, a significant increase on our existing average of 1,100 (from 2016 to 2024).
To meet this target much of the City of Yarra will have to be upzoned to allow a greater density of development, such as the 6-storey medium density we can see in Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.
Whole of Yarra is an Activity Centre
The whole of the City of Yarra (together with all of the City of Melbourne) has been declared as an “activity centre”
Traffic and parking congestion
If Yarra’s population almost doubles, then there will be many more people attempting to drive and park, bringing with it the risk of severe traffic congestion and parking congestion. This would be a bad outcome.
Investment in active transport
To mitigate and ameliorate the expected increase in traffic congestion and parking congestion, Plan for Victoria supports active transport.
In addition, Plan for Victoria will adjust minimum requirements for car and bike parking, to match local demand, i.e. decreasing the mandatory number of off-street car parkings, and increasing the mandatory number of off-street bike parking. This will also act to reduce the cost of housing, making it more affordable.
Conclusion
Overall, Plan for Victoria aligns well with recommendations from Streets Alive Yarra. We agree with the state government that as our population increases, many more people will turn to walking, biking and public transport, for speed and convenience, and that this choice should be supported. We look forward to the implementation of Plan for Victoria, and the freedom it will deliver.
Published 11 March 2025.