The conversation

We sought feedback from users of Royal Park on a discussion paper to help guide the development of the revised master plan.

Gathering insights

Engagement occurred from 6 November to 10 December 2023.

Consultation consisted of a diverse range of engagement methods including:
City of Melbourne icon for a survey

10 detailed written submissions

from park stakeholders

City of Melbourne icon for speech bubbles.

1900 comments from community

across online and in-person activities

City of Melbourne icon for people

375 pop-up participants

across 5 pop-ups

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1432 survey responses

in total

108 online mapping comments

by 42 contributors

75 stakeholders

attending workshops

Who we heard from

Images from our in-person engagement

What we heard

We heard that the new master plan needs to be as much about protecting the park as planning for the future.

We heard support for all Discussion Paper themes from diverse community members and stakeholders.

For example:

  • In the future, participants are keen for Royal Park to be a place that is shared by everyone, multi-use and flexible for a range of community needs including organised sport, recreation, exercise and enjoyment of nature.
  • We heard that many participants love and value the natural landscapes of Royal Park including the plants, and animals as well as big trees providing shade.
  • We heard that participants want Royal Park to remain a raw, natural place with a focus on increasing trees, expanding plantings and vegetation. Protecting and enhancing native habitats, while also keeping the park intact and restricting the expansion of built form in the park, was also important.
  • Participants also expressed support for Aboriginal culture and connection to Country to be acknowledged and celebrated at Royal Park in future. Participants would like to see this achieved through:
    • native planting (1,045 or 77.1%)
    • educational and interpretive signage (792 or 58.5%)
    • celebrations of sites of cultural and historical significance (761 or 56.2%)
    • public art (740 or 54.6%)
    • storytelling (517 or 38.2%)
    • activities, programs and events (482 or 35.6%).

We also heard mixed views around car parking and lighting that highlight areas for further technical exploration during the development of draft master plan.

  • Most locals who walk or cycle to the park do not require more car parking. However, regional visitors would prefer easier to navigate parking options (e.g. signs to indicate when car parks are full to help navigation when driving).
  • Some park users would like to see lighting along high volume areas of the park, particularly to and from public transport. Others are concerned about the impact of lighting on ecology.

Royal Park is well-utilised with people visiting and enjoying the paths and all precincts.

  • 55.3% visit Royal Park South
  • 48% use the pathways through the park
  • 30.3% visit Royal Park North
  • 24.6% visit Royal Park Central
  • 23.5% visit Royal Park East
  • 18.3% visit Royal Park West.

These findings show that use of parts of the park decreases as accessibility decreases. The more you have to cross barriers, such as road, rail and tram, the less likely you are to visit that part of the park.

Safety issues prevent some people from visiting certain areas within the park, with over 350 comments relating to safety improvements. Many of these issues resonate with the Safety Audit undertaken in 2023.

Areas of concern include:

  • areas near paths and roads where there are cars, traffic and bikes travelling at speed
  • dark areas or spaces not well-lit
  • Royal Park Train Station and tram stops, especially at night
  • unkept, exposed or neglected areas including car parks
  • areas where there is anti-social behaviour.

Examples of what we heard when we asked community what they want Royal Park to look, feel and be like in 20 years:

What do you love and where could we improve?

Explore what we heard on the interactive map.

Impact

Council now has a better understanding of the community’s deep love for and attachment to the park.

What we learnt about area usage patterns reinforces the importance of improving movement and connection across significant barriers in the park. Many submissions raised the importance of connectivity (e.g. do we have paths where people want to go?) and accessibility (e.g. are the paths suitable for all abilities?). We also learnt that perceptions of accessibility in certain areas shape use.

Feedback from diverse community members highlighted all the different ways that people use Royal Park, and the importance of supporting varied use well into the future. For example:

  • Women from the public housing estates want to use the park at night and walk in groups while their homes cool down.
  • Children want to play with friends while their parents play sport.
  • Women will not walk in the park after dark in winter
  • Cyclist numbers are significantly reduced in the winter months due to lack of lighting on shared paths.
  • Night time use is focused around public transport stops and car parking (many park users work at the hospitals).
  • Most people walk and visit the park in daylight hours and do not understand why others may need to use the park at night.

Next steps

Council is developing the Draft Master Plan to reflect what we heard. We will seek community feedback on the Draft Master Plan late 2024 – early 2025.

Royal Park Master Plan