The project aligns with these key strategic documents:

• West Melbourne Structure Plan
• Urban Forest Strategy
• Transport Strategy 2030

This project is a key initiative of the West Melbourne Structure Plan (2018). City of Melbourne wants to enhance the quality and function of public space in Hawke Street, West Melbourne.  

The design seeks to reduce through-traffic and mitigate increased vehicle flow from the West Gate Tunnel, improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, and increase urban greening throughout Hawke Street.

This project is co-funded by City of Melbourne and the Department of Transport and Planning through the Transport Amenity Program (TAP). As part of TAP, up to $100 million has been allocated to fund upgrades to manage traffic changes and maximise the benefits of the West Gate Tunnel project in North and West Melbourne.

City of Melbourne has been working closely with the Department of Transport and Planning ahead of the West Gate Tunnel opening in late 2025.

Through these discussions, we’ve agreed to progress the design of Hawke Street greening in 2026 with a view to commencing works once a six-month traffic monitoring period has been completed and people have adjusted to the new traffic conditions.

To date, three phases of community consultation have been undertaken for this project. Unfortunately, during the detailed design process we found that the concept design endorsed by Council in 2023 poses a lot of challenges due to underground services.

From 8 December 2025 to 8 February 2026, we’re undertaking community consultation on two revised designs to help us decide which of these we will deliver.

We know many in the North and West Melbourne communities have been excited for the delivery of the Hawke Street greening project.

We appreciated the opportunity to talk to the community about Hawke Street at the Transport Amenity Program information session on 20 November 2025 and want to keep the conversation going.

That’s why we’re starting community consultation as soon as possible over an extended period to ensure we can gather as much feedback about the two designs as possible.