As part of the City of Melbourne’s commitment to the City Road Master Plan and increasing access to public spaces, we conducted community engagement on the proposed opportunity to improve the Northern Undercroft and City Road Park.

The consultation ran from 13 May to 13 June 2024 and was an opportunity to understand community support for the proposal and any new insights since we first engaged on the master plan in 2014.

The reason for community engagement at this time was to share a high level concept design and understand the level of support from the community for:

• exploring the project further
• delivering a flexible recreation offering to Southbank
• proceeding with future advocacy and funding opportunities.

The invitation to participate was through an online survey on Participate Melbourne and at two community pop ups. Key stakeholders were also invited to meet with the project team directly.

Council invited feedback on the proposal from through the following activities:

• The project team attended the Festival @ Boyd event in May.
• A printed bulletin with QR code was distributed to 250+ properties.
• A3 corflute signs were displayed onsite and at the Boyd Community Centre.
• A postcard with QR code was widely distributed to the area.
• A direct email was sent to key stakeholder representatives.

Other communication channels included the Participate Melbourne e-newsletter, other appropriate newsletters and social media.

• 117 people completed surveys.
• 40 people had conversations with the project team at drop in sessions at the Boyd Community Centre.
• 6 people provided feedback in person at stakeholder meetings.
• 1082 people visited Participate Melbourne.
• 2 written submissions were received.
• 130 people learned about the project through intercept surveys.

Support for the proposal:

• There was overall support towards the project with 76 per cent of survey respondents indicating they were fully or strongly supportive of the concept design presented.
• Reasons for support were varied but acknowledged that any improvements to the space would be welcomed and that greening, safety and additional recreation opportunities were important to the local area.
• Of the smaller number who were not supportive, there was some doubt about anyone using the space and that there was not enough detail to provide comment.

Future uses of the site:

• Active and passive recreation opportunities as well as a flexible space for social gatherings were seen as important.
• Common feedback themes included that public spaces are needed for the growing community, and that there are a broad range of uses the site could cater for. This includes that safety, activation and recreation improvements are needed to make the space inviting and maximise its use.

Feedback on City Road Park:

• Feedback on the City Road Park proposal included a desire for appropriate plantings and infrastructure and to consider innovative design options given the site limitations.

'This area is drastically under utilised for an area with such a dense population. It complements, and offers something different from, the other street makeovers (Southbank Boulevard and Dodds St)'

'It's unsafe, unused and prime for opportunity!'

'I think it's the best use for the space given its parameters: loud noise, limited natural light, difficult to access.'

'I actually like all options, but feel the active use would get more patronage throughout the year.'

'There's lack of parks where you can meet socially so an area that you can use for social activities that aren't just centered around recreation would be beneficial.'

'...consider developing this in the most environmentally friendly way possible to minimise impact on the environment, in development and in ongoing maintenance.'

The City of Melbourne will finalise the concept design utilising the community feedback. We will also continue to pursue funding opportunities.

Once the concept plan is finalised, we will update the community and seek Future Melbourne Committee endorsement. An endorsed concept plan can progress to detailed design and construction once funding is available.