Flinders Lane will be transformed into a pedestrian-first street under a new $5 million City of Melbourne plan aimed at making some of the CBD’s busiest strips safer, slower and more inviting.
According to The Age, works are set to begin soon, with the lane to be raised to the same level as the footpath and fitted with cobblestone sections designed to slow traffic and prioritise people on foot. The upgrade marks the first stage of a broader push to reshape how key streets in the Hoddle Grid are used.
Once complete, attention will shift to other central routes including Little Collins, Little Bourke and Little Lonsdale streets, along with well-known laneways such as Liverpool Street and Crossley Street. These areas are expected to follow a similar model, with infrastructure changes and potential timed closures to vehicle traffic.
The council will also expand trials that close selected streets to cars during peak periods. Little Collins Street is already closed daily between 12pm and 2pm, with further trials expected to test how reduced traffic impacts both movement and economic activity.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece told The Age the project is designed to put pedestrians first while supporting local businesses and city activity.
“The little streets of Melbourne will become people-first, and we will be making the investment in infrastructure to deliver on that,” he said. “It’s very much designed to slow all the cars right down, make it very much a pedestrian priority zone.”
“We will be trialling closing the streets to cars for certain hours of the day to see how that works,” Reece said.
“We will look closely at what it does to vehicle movements around the city. We will look closely at what it does to pedestrian movements around the city. My expectation is it will significantly lift pedestrian footfall in those areas.”
City leaders are pointing to similar transformations in places like Sydney, London and New York, where pedestrianisation has boosted retail and hospitality trade.
“The evidence is really clear: pedestrianisation of city streets, when done well and when done in the right locations, delivers a massive economic uplift,” Reece said. “That’s why from New York to London to Sydney, we are seeing this happen, and Melbourne is not going to be left behind.”
