We know how important it is to feel safe in the city, which is why we're doing what counts to improve the safety, cleanliness and accessibility of Elizabeth Street south.

A coordinated approach is the best way to respond to the long-running issues in this precinct, so earlier this year the City of Melbourne held a roundtable to bring together Victoria Police, Yarra Trams, Metro Trains, the Department of Transport & Planning, residents and traders.

Together, we looked at short and long-term actions that will help clean up Elizabeth Street south – and make it a vibrant and more welcoming part of our city.

Feedback from roundtable attendees focused on greater activation of local shops, a connected and clean community environment, and a concern for worker, visitor and resident safety.

Antisocial behaviour, damage to property such as graffiti, and unlit laneways were highlighted as the main causes for people feeling unsafe.

Here are some of the opportunities identified in the roundtable discussion:

Activation

Explore opportunities to activate the precinct during seasonal events, and bring in food trucks, buskers or public art activations.

Cleanliness

Increase the frequency of cleaning and graffiti removal in the area – and improve the coordination of the different agencies who all play a role in keeping this area clean.

Design and infrastructure

Undertake an Environmental Design Review to identify potential solutions to improve safety in the precinct.

Safety

Improve the lighting in the laneways and explore future plans for Flinders Court, and explore ways to increase the visibility or authority figures in the precinct.

Movement

Increase pedestrian light frequency on the lights to reduce pedestrian congestion.

Since the roundtable, we have acted on a number of key initiatives.

We have increased the frequency of cleaning and graffiti removal in the precinct including:

• A dedicated sweeper allocated to the precinct between 7am and 3pm
• Additional graffiti patrols
• Nightly hot spot washing of the Elizabeth Street footpath
• Pressure washing of the extended footpath four nights per week.

We have made changes to street infrastructure, including:

• installed safety bollards to reduce vehicle access to the extended footpath area
• installed additional planters and trees along the street
• removed some seating in the precinct to help keep people moving and discourage anti-social behaviour.

We are in the final stages of completing a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design Review partnering with Victoria Police. This has included interviews with stakeholders and observations of the precinct. The outputs from the review will inform further action that we can take in the precinct.