Transport action plan cancelled

The Transport Action Plan has been cancelled; let’s look at what happened.

The Transport Action Plan has been cancelled. Image credit: City of Yarra, Streets Alive Yarra.

In 2022 the City of Yarra adopted a Transport Strategy, regarding how we can all move around safely. The strategy sets out the outcomes, strategic direction, and policies to achieve that.

In 2024 the City of Yarra adopted a Transport Action Plan, a detailed plan of how to implement the strategy. The plan sets out a 10 year plan of works, via programs of actions:

10 year plan of programs. Image credit: Transport Action Plan.
Example of detailed planning for a program. Image credit: Transport Action Plan.

But, at the 8 September 2026 council meeting the Transport Action Plan was cancelled.

Cancellation of Transport Action Plan. Image credit: Minutes from 8 September 2026.

Cancelled without consultation

The Transport Action Plan was cancelled without consultation; councillors specifically voted against a motion to consult, despite the Transport Strategy and Action Plan having been adopted only after extensive consultation.

Cancelled without formal consultation. Image credit: Minutes from 8 September 2026.

What this means for Yarra

Council resolved to adopt seven (7) principles for the assessment and planning of future capital works projects. This means:

  • proposals for capital works will be assessed against the seven (7) principles, instead of being assessed against the Transport Strategy and the Transport Action Plan
  • the seven (7) principles effectively replace the Transport Strategy and the Transport Action Plan
  • long term planning, via programs of works, is cancelled in favour of smaller individual projects

How we think this will play out:

  • larger programs comprising multiple actions, such as ‘New Deal for Schools’, or ‘Building a safer Wellington Street’, will be cancelled or broken up
  • stable recurrent funding for long term planning for active transport will be cancelled and replaced with smaller, riskier budget allocations for individual projects
  • overall funding for active transport will be slashed, particularly for cycling projects
  • some funding will remain for improvements to infrastructure for walking, such as raised pedestrian crossings
  • rat running on local streets will continue; Yarra won’t build any new modal filters

Hypocrisy at its heart

The process has hypocrisy at its heart – it claims to put safety at the top of the prioritised list of principles, yet positions the principles best able to deliver safety (mode shift via modal filters, and parking demand management) at the bottom of the list.

Hypocrisy in the 7 principles. Image credit: Minutes from 8 September 2026, highlight from Streets Alive Yarra.

How to improve safety

If council genuinely wishes to improve safety in Yarra, it should follow the hierarchy of controls:

Hierarchy of controls applied to walking and biking. Image credit: Streets Alive Yarra.

The most effective and highest priority is to eliminate risks:

  • modal shift initiatives (which council has placed as the lowest priority) reduce the volume and speed of traffic on local (not arterial) streets; if cars aren’t there, or aren’t travelling as fast, they don’t present a life threatening risk to people walking or biking
  • parking and demand management (which council has placed as the second lowest priority) means increasing the cost to park all-day, thereby reducing the number of commuters driving into Yarra each day; again, if cars aren’t on our streets, they don’t present a life threatening risk to people walking or biking

Conclusion

Cancelling the Transport Action Plan is a set back for evidence based policy and planning. Yarra’s backwards bloc has struck again.

Yarra’s backwards bloc has struck again. Image credit: Streets Alive Yarra.