Lennox Street is a north-south street in Richmond, between Victoria Street and Swan Street. North of Victoria Street the name changes to Nicholson Street.
The upper section of Lennox Street, together with its continuation into Nicholson Street, are defined as a Strategic Cycling Corridor, intended to offer a safe environment for people biking, and encouraging them to keep them off the adjacent car-focussed Hoddle Street.
Lennox Street is also home to Richmond West Primary School, the North Richmond Community Health Centre and the annual Richmond Moon Lantern Festival.
Bridge Road Streetscape Masterplan
In 2017 Council adopted the Bridge Road Streetscape Masterplan, which, for the intersection of Lennox / Bridge, included creation of pedestrian and bicycle priority spaces, and improve bicycle priority and facilities along Lennox Street.
Swan Street Streetscape Masterplan
In 2022 Council adopted the Swan Street Streetscape Masterplan, which included plans to modify the intersection of Lennox and Swan, widening the footpaths, keeping the bike lane at the kerb, and reducing the southbound vehicle lanes from two to one.
Transport Action Plan
In 2024 Council adopted a Transport Action Plan which included actions to upgrade the intersections at Lennox / Swan, Lennox / Bridge, and Lennox / Highett.
Active Travel consultation
In 2025 Council conducted community engagement on several proposals to improve safety for people biking, including the intersections at Lennox / Swan, Lennox / Bridge, and Lennox / Highett.
Dooring hazard
Another problem is that Lennox Street is not safe for people biking, especially not for people of all ages and abilities, owing to the hazard of dooring. The north-bound cycling lane is located next to parked cars, and if a driver opens their door suddenly, then the person biking could be knocked off, under the wheels of a following car. The following video captures a dooring event, which thankfully did not result in death or serious injury, because the person cycling happened to be just far enough away from the car.
Solution
As described in the VicRoads Traffic Engineering Manual Guidance on Treating Bicycle Car Dooring Collisions, the solution is to relocate car parking to side streets, i.e. off the strategic cycling corridor.
Support from the RACV and Infrastructure Australia
The RACV have proposed a network of bicycle superhighways, including on Lennox Street and up Nicholson Street. Infrastructure Australian included RACV’s proposal for bicycle superhighways in their 2020 Infrastructure Priority List.
Local champion
Your local champion for Lennox Street is Vincent Ng.
I care about making streets safer in Yarra because I believe everyone deserves to be able to get to where they are going safely. In my view while the road needs to be shared by all users, streets that are for people not cars is key to enabling a prosperous and liveable city for all.
My cousin suffered a traumatic brain injury as a pedestrian when she was hit by a bus over a year ago which left her with a permanent disability. I wouldn’t want this happening to anyone which is another reason I advocate for safer streets.
My daily commute takes me via Nicholson and Lennox streets on a bike and then I commute by train to Cheltenham. I really appreciate the improvements Yarra has been making over the years to this key cycle route. It also provides passive surveillance for the local primary school as well and businesses in an area where public safety is a concern. Keep it up Yarra!
Vincent Ng