At the Council Meeting on Tuesday 11 November, Council endorsed the Linear Parklands Masterplan.

Read the Council Meeting Minutes.

Project background

Yarra City Council has endorsed the final Linear Parklands Masterplan, a 20-year vision for the much-loved green corridor stretching along the former Inner Circle Railway Line which runs from Princes Hill through Carlton North and Fitzroy North to Rushall Station.

This follows 2 stages of extensive community consultation, undertaken in partnership with Merri-bek City Council.

The first stage of community consultation took place in 2022. We received 490 responses from the community - your feedback provided us with valuable information and informed the development of the draft Masterplan. In June and July this year we went back to the community to seek feedback on the draft Masterplan.

What did we ask?

During the second stage of engagement, we asked the community the following questions:

1. The draft Masterplan identifies 5 areas along the Linear Parklands (Area A, B, C, D & E) Which section(s) of the Linear Parklands do you use? (You can choose more than one).

2. Vision statement: "The Inner Circle Linear Parklands will be a safe, equitable, parklands on Wurundjeri Country, supporting the health and sense of belonging for its diverse community. Offering a variety of experiences through a meaningful engagement with its animals, plants, culture, histories, and people". 

Do you support the proposed Vision for the Linear Park Masterplan? (Yes, no, unsure).

2.a) Please let us know if you have any suggestions for how we could improve this statement.

3. The draft Linear Park Masterplan has 5 principles that will help guide our future actions and projects, they are: 

• An inclusive, safe, equitable parkland for a diverse community 
• Enhance the safety and comfort of a state-significant strategic cycling corridor 
• Reconcile, and strengthen relationships with Wurundjeri Country 
• Celebrate the parklands railway history and community activism 
• Regenerate and connect ecologies and habitat to support biodiversity.  

Please indicate your level of agreement with how well you think these principles are captured in the draft Masterplan. Rate from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree.   

3.a) Do you have any suggestions for how these principles could be better captured in the draft Masterplan? 

4. The draft Masterplan for Linear Parklands will be implemented over the next 20 years.  The first project to be carried out will be Area D of the Masterplan 'the Play Plateau' Sports and Play precinct at Park Reserve.   

How do you/your family currently use this space? 

• to relax in
• to play on the playground
• to play sports and informal games
• to gather socially e.g. picnicking, barbequing
• to connect to nature
• Other (please specify)
• I don't use it.

5. What would you most like to see incorporated into the new design for the play plateau? 

6. The draft Masterplan identifies opportunities for improvement through the implementation plan. Help us to prioritise these opportunities, indicating what is most important to you.   

Please rank this list from most important to least important (please select at least one option). 

• Playground and open space upgrades  
• Lighting upgrades and facilities to improve safety
• New facilities and infrastructure upgrades across the reserve including park furniture, toilets and shelter
• Improved signage and wayfinding
• Celebrating the history and heritage of the parklands
• Increased tree canopy, water sensitive urban design, and increased biodiverse and climate adaptive plantings.

7. Do you have any other comments about the draft Linear Parklands Masterplan and the projects listed in the implementation plan? (open text).

Who did we hear from?

What we heard and how it influenced the final plan

In response to the first question, participants indicated that they use various sections of Linear Parklands, with many using the whole corridor. 70.59% of participants supported the vision set out in the draft Masterplan.

Over half the participants supported the principles set out in the Masterplan, with some of the principles gathering over 70% support.

We received a wide range of valuable feedback, which has been grouped into themes within the Engagement Report (linked below). Here’s a quick summary of the key themes:

Mixed views about pedestrian and cyclist movement through the parklands (including views on the shared user path;

Mixed views about upgrading Park Street to provide cycle-priority measures;

• Need for improved lighting, which also minimises environmental impacts;
• Value of green space in the parklands;
• Value of vegetation and biodiversity in the parklands;
• Mixed views about road closures;
• Need for improved facilities and infrastructure, such as toilets, play provision and seating;
• Need for railway heritage to be celebrated and preserved, including remnant heritage features and recognising key people; and
• Value of active and passive recreation in the parklands.

Participants chose their priorities for the implementation plan, with the top three being:

• Increased tree canopy, water sensitive urban design, and increased biodiverse and climate adaptive plantings;
• Playground and open space upgrades; and
• Lighting upgrades and facilities to improve safety.

Participants provided valuable feedback on how they currently use Park Street Reserve and what improvements they would like to see in the future Play Plateau project. The top responses for how they use the space included:

• To relax in;
• To connect to nature;
• I don’t use this space;
• To play on the playground; and
• To gather socially e.g. picnicking, barbequing.

The top five suggestions for the Play Plateau project were:

• Native vegetation and trees, for local habitat creation, educational opportunity and shade;
• Facilities such as seating, shade structures, toilets and barbeques;
• Active recreation, with basketball being the most frequently raised and a wide range of other sports mentioned too;
• Upgrades to playground, including opportunities for water play, nature play, slides and sensory play, and materials to be sensitive to surrounding environment; and
• Passive recreation, creating places to relax and gather socially.

The Engagement Report outlines in more detail the consultation process, who we heard from, and the feedback received.

What happens next?

Following the adoption of the Masterplan, there are many individual projects that will now be considered for implementation as part of the budget process. We will consult the community on these projects in the coming years.

The Play Plateau project at Park Street Reserve will be prioritised as one of the first projects to be implemented, following the announcement of Federal funding for this park.

Visit the project page

To view the final Masterplan document and read more about this consultation please visit the Linear Parklands Masterplan project page on Your Say Yarra.