Preliminary design ideas

Based on preliminary site assessments, the plan shows three key ideas we would like your feedback on.

1. Expanding Macarthur Square

The plan shows the expansion of Macarthur Square parkland into Macarthur Place North and South.

This would increase the amount of park space for recreation activities. It would also improve the soil conditions for the existing elm trees and maximise the length of time they can be retained in the landscape.

To achieve this, we need to change Macarthur Place North and South into one-way roads. The plan shows how this would operate, with traffic circulating in an anticlockwise direction. Traffic movement along Rathdowne and Canning Streets would not be affected.

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Traffic Calming

A traffic survey undertaken in September 2015 has shown that the speed of some vehicles using Macarthur Place North and South is higher than desired.

Council believes the narrowing of the roadways and the proposed expansion of Macarthur Square may assist in reducing vehicle travel speeds. If the community supports the park expansion, Council will monitor the vehicle travel speeds following the works. If vehicle speeds remain high, we will seek further feedback from the local community regarding additional traffic calming measures.

2. Activities in Macarthur Square

We are interested in how Macarthur Square can best support the recreation activities of a diverse local community. One idea we would like to explore is whether the eastern half (the Canning Street end) of Macarthur Square could provide a dog off-leash area for the local community.

Dogs are allowed to be exercised off-leash in certain designated areas within the City of Melbourne, providing the owner remains in effective voice or hand control of the dog. Currently, the Carlton suburb does not have a designated dog off-leash area.

We would not proposed to fence any dog off-leash area in Macarthur Square.

3. Street Tree Planting

In order to assist in the planning and sourcing of trees, we are seeking feedback on the street tree planting during this first stage of community engagement.

New tree planting is proposed within the bluestone channel of the existing parking lane in Macarthur Place North and South. The new trees would significantly increase canopy shade to the streets and footpaths around Macarthur Square, cooling the surrounding environment and reducing the expected impact of climate change.

The proposed species Green Ash (Fraxnnus pennsylvanica 'Cimmzam') is a deciduous, medium-sized tree that has consistent form and tolerances to suit the expected growing conditions. This selection is consistent with the Carlton Urban Forest Precinct Plan.

This would result in the loss of approximately 5 car parking spaces from Macarthur Square.

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Background

The City of Melbourne's Open Space Strategy identifies Macarthur Square as a local open space with a formal character. It recommends Council should "continue to maintain and manage the heritage values balanced with contemporary recreational needs and values".

The strategy acknowledges additional open space will be required in Carlton as the population grows.

Council's Urban Forest Strategy also aims to increase canopy cover in the public realm to 40% by 2040. To achieve this, the City of Melbourne is planting 3000 new trees each year. Macarthur Place North and South are identified for priority tree planting activities in the Carlton Urban Forest Precinct Plan.

Macarthur Square

Macarthur Square is currently used by the local community for a range of passive recreation activities such as sitting, picnicking and dog walking.

The dominant feature of Macarthur Square is the avenue of 20 mature elm trees. A recent survey indicates that the health of most of these trees is poor, with a useful life expectancy of less than ten years. We are looking at how we can extend the life of these trees in the Square.