The City of Yarra has released plans to complete the Wellington Street bike lane project and deliver a major improvement to the busy route to the inner city from the north.
The plans, out for public comment until 13 October 2025, comprise stages three and four of the rollouts.
The new stages will take the route from Johnston Street to Alexandra Parade and from Alexandra Parade to Queens Parade.
The first stage was completed in 2015 and stage two in 2019. The council has previously committed to the further extensions and there has always been strong public support, including a recent consultation in 2023.
First mooted in 1993, formally proposed in 2009 and then planned in 2012, the route has proved popular with recent counts showing 2,000 riders a day on the street.
The route is an official strategic cycling corridor, which is planned as a series of links between the Capital City Trail in the north to the Main Yarra Trail in the south, including the route along Clarendon Street.
Importantly, via South Terrace it will also feed to and from the new bike route soon to be constructed along the Eastern Freeway.
The council has presented a total of four options for the new stages, two for each.
A notable feature of the latest proposals is the idea of a ‘bicycle street’, first seen on Canning Street, where motor vehicles are filtered out of the street to prevent through traffic.
This was remarkably successful in Canning Street, supported by riders on the street as well as locals, as it prevents rat-running, greatly improving the safety and ambience of the street.
Wellington Street is well suited to this arrangement, and it would retain access to local properties.
The other options do not restrict through traffic and use conventional and separated bike lanes. This would improve bike safety but would miss the opportunity to transform the street into a special place.
Have your say before this consultation closes at 9am on Monday 13 October 2025.
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